News and blog posts
22
Jan 2018
The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has analyzed the applications for approval of clinical trials at the Berlin Ethics Committee. The share of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) had risen to 86% in 2013. This trend is assumed to be an early response to increasing international legal regulations of medical devices requiring manufacturers to present higher standards of evidence.
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19
Jan 2018
The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development Group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. In November new codes for allergy diagnostics, diagnostic profiles for certain diseases and detection of antibodies against Chlamydia were added to the CCSD Schedule.
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18
Jan 2018
A 62-page reimbursement report covers mechanical thrombectomy for stroke. The analysis covers procedure coding, payment mechanism, reimbursement tariffs and policy restrictions in 11 EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
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17
Jan 2018
Article “Cost-effectiveness analysis of bariatric surgery for morbid obesity in Belgium” published in the “Journal of Medical Economics” provides insights about economic outcomes of bariatric surgery in Belgium using Markov modeling. Over the 10-year horizon, bariatric surgery led to a cost increment of €3,788 and 1.4 additional QALY (€2,809/QALY) compared with optimal medical management. Over lifetime horizon, surgery led to 1.1 life years and 5.0 QALY gains and €9,332/patient average cost savings.
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17
Jan 2018
Since January 1, 2018, responsibility for managing the product regulations for medical devices is transferred from the Norwegian Directorate of Health to the Norwegian Medicines Agency.
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16
Jan 2018
The program will cover the period of 2018-2025 and will focus on improvement of provision of health care services, introduction of innovations and other aspects of health care system. Overall budget of the program is 4.7 bln. euros. The program can create a window of opportunity for financing of innovative equipment and devices in Russia.
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12
Jan 2018
A 104-page reimbursement report covers percutaneous, thoracoscopic and open in adjunction to heart surgery ablations in hospital settings. Radiofrequency, cryo and microwave ablation sources were considered. The analysis covers procedure coding, payment mechanism, reimbursement tariffs and policy restrictions in 11 EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
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11
Jan 2018
The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development Group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. In November new codes for reconstruction of breast, open adnexectomy, transoral laser microsurgery and surgical correction of hallux valgus were added to the CCSD Schedule.
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10
Jan 2018
The Department of Home Affairs (EDI) in Switzerland decided upon the coverage with evidence development (CED) of two types of positron emission tomography as well as stereotactic radiotherapy (photons) of exudative age-related macular degeneration. The status is given to contested medical services for a specific period which is extended until evidence is complete.
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09
Jan 2018
The new Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) system, called “LKF system” in Austria came into effect on January 1st 2018. It is used for the reimbursement, documentation and cost data collection of inpatient and day case services in Austrian hospitals. Compared to the last version, the LKF system for 2018 includes two newly established procedure groups (Oncological Immunotherapy and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) as well as several new procedures and changes in the association of procedures to specific groups. See details in the MTRC report.
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05
Jan 2018
The generic quality framework and three modules of care describe the general requirements for medical devices for home-based application, included in the Health Insurance Act (Zvw). This framework is not intended for medical devices that fall under the Social Support Act (Wmo) and medical aids provided in intramural settings.
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04
Jan 2018
The National Board of Health has not updated recommendations for cervical cancer screening since 2012. New evidence has been obtained for the detection of HPV infection as a screening method instead of or as a supplement to microscopic examination of cervical cells, and several countries plan to rearrange their screening programs.
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