How much is ill-health costing the UK economy – and what could be gained by tackling it? A new report by Frontier Economics, commissioned by the Health Innovation Network (HIN), puts a number on the prize: £246 billion in potential productivity gains.

The aim of the project was to quantify the economic cost of ill-health and the value health innovation can bring by addressing ill-health. Our report provides a new perspective on two of the UK Government’s most important missions: kickstarting economic growth and building an NHS fit for the future.  It details the potential for innovation in healthcare to help address the economic impacts of ill-health, by helping people return to work sooner, supporting in-job productivity, and preventing long-term health conditions.

What we did:

We developed a bespoke approach for estimating the different benefits from health innovation and a bespoke methodology to estimate both the macroeconomic and condition-specific productivity impacts of ill-health – from top-down modelling of the UK labour market, to bottom-up analysis of specific innovations.

The work also assessed the wider economic benefits – from inward investment in life sciences to improved NHS efficiency and patient wellbeing – and provided a clear framework for how HINs could intervene to unlock value.

What we found:

Innovation is already having an impact – and scaling it could go much further. For example:

• £1.2bn through return-to-work support for musculoskeletal conditions
• £2.3bn from better management of blood pressure and cholesterol
• £459m via AI imaging for faster stroke treatment
• £274m from FeNO testing to diagnose asthma more effectively

Helping 25% of people currently out of work due to ill-health back into employment could be worth £48bn to the UK economy. Meanwhile, reducing ill-health in the NHS workforce alone could return £8.55bn – or 233 million hours.

The impact:

Our findings have given the Health Innovation Network a concrete, evidence-led business case to support future planning and investment. The work is now feeding into the development of HINs’ 10-Year Plan, ensuring innovation is focused where it can deliver the greatest return – economically and socially.

Gabriela Caldwell-Jones will present the report findings at NHS Confed Expo 2025 on 12 June.

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