What is Horizon Scanning?

Preparing health and care for what's next

Horizon scanning is the systematic identification, monitoring and assessment of emerging innovations that have the potential to transform health and care.

By identifying new medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, digital technologies and other innovations before they become widely adopted, horizon scanning helps organisations anticipate change, plan effectively and improve patient outcomes.

Why Horizon Scanning Matters

Healthcare is constantly evolving, with new medicines, medical devices, diagnostics and digital technologies emerging every day. Horizon scanning helps organisations identify these developments early, providing the evidence needed to anticipate change, inform decision-making and prepare for the future.

Through horizon scanning, organisations can:

  • Detect signals of emerging innovations before they become widely adopted.
  • Inform decisions with timely, evidence-based insight.
  • Prepare health systems for future opportunities and challenges.
  • Identify unmet needs to help shape future research, innovation and investment.

The Three Horizons

We look for new health and care innovations, and support system-level readiness, across three horizons: Emerging, Transitional and Imminent.

Emerging Horizon

The Emerging Horizon focuses on early-stage innovations where future applications and impact may not yet be clear. This is where we look for potentially disruptive developments that could shape the future of health and care.

Signals can come from sources such as early research, patents, conference abstracts and research funding, helping us identify innovations before they begin to enter more established development pathways.

Transitional Horizon

The Transitional Horizon focuses on innovations progressing through development, from early clinical research towards regulatory approval. As technologies evolve, the available evidence becomes stronger and their potential applications and impact become clearer.

We track developments through clinical trials, research studies, manufacturers, conferences, regulatory agencies and specialist publications to understand how innovations are progressing and changing.

Imminent Horizon

The Imminent Horizon focuses on innovations approaching or entering healthcare, including technologies undergoing regulatory or health technology assessment processes and those that have recently launched.

At this stage, more evidence is available about their performance, intended use and potential impact. We bring together evidence from research, regulatory and technology assessment processes, alongside expert, patient and public perspectives, to support prioritisation and decision-making.

Find out more

Our Programmes

We look for new health and care innovations, and support system-level readiness, across three horizons: Emerging, Transitional and Imminent.

Our Technical Infrastructure

Building a connected, scalable infrastructure for the next generation of healthcare horizon scanning

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