The Institute of Biomedical Science (‘IBMS’) commissioned Oxera to assess the economic impact of the activities of Biomedical Scientists, with particular emphasis on their contributions within the bowel cancer patient pathway in England. As Health and Care Professions Council (‘HCPC’) registrant professionals, Biomedical Scientists play a key role within the healthcare system.

We have used bowel cancer as an indicative example of ways that Biomedical Scientists contribute value though Biomedical Scientists’ involvement in clinical conditions reaches far beyond bowel cancer; around 95% of clinical pathways rely on access to pathology services. Our assessment therefore captures just a fraction of the value provided by Biomedical Scientists, and serves as an example of how the full impact of Biomedical Scientists could be quantified.

We estimate the impact of Biomedical Scientists against several counterfactuals. Focusing solely on the bowel cancer patient pathway, the impact of Biomedical Scientists at the initial testing stage is estimated to be between £30 and £150 per average individual, depending on the counterfactual. This indicates that the presence of Biomedical Scientists at this stage benefits NHS England by between £115 million and £571 million per year. Additionally, we estimate that the impact to a cancer patient is significantly higher, between £9,100 and £21,400. Finally, the work of Biomedical scientists is estimated to benefit between 2,400 and 5,600 additional quality adjusted life years per yearly bowel cancer screening cohort. These results are illustrated in the figure below.