News and blog posts

13

Aug 2020

In July 2020, new material code and related conditions of reimbursement concerning the endoscopic treatment of primary or secondary vesicoureteral reflux were added to the List of reimbursable devices of the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI-RIZIV). Read more

12

Aug 2020

On the 9th of July 2020, the Ministry of Health of Spain released a screening guide for Hepatitis C infection as a part of the Strategic Plan for Addressing Hepatitis C in the National Health System. To improve access to screening and link to treatment monitoring, the guide proposes actions such as diagnosing the infection in a single step, training and support activities for health professionals, or a simplification of the models. Read more

11

Aug 2020

In July 2020, the Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment (AIHTA) published five decision support documents. The assessed technologies included implantation of a wireless pulmonary artery pressure sensor in patients with advanced heart failure, intrauterine ultrasound-guided transcervical radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous transvascular implantation of a coronary sinus reducing stent, radiofrequency-induced intravesical chemohyperthermia for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, and Vascular photodynamic therapy with Padeliporfin (Tookad® solution). Read more

10

Aug 2020

The German Association for Digital Health Care (Spitzenverband Digitale Gesundheitsversorgung e.V.) published the list of companies that submitted applications for inclusion in the directory of digital health apps (DiGA) in the first phase. Read more

07

Aug 2020

The focus of the service is on reimbursement decisions (new procedure codes, DRG change, coverage decisions, innovation funding, clinical guidelines) in 14 European countries and globally. Only in Europe, 29 organizations are monitored. All news are classified by 31 Technology Group and alerts are sent every 2 weeks. This is a twin service for "HTA Alerts", where we track initiated or published HTAs from 56 organizations globally. Read more

07

Aug 2020

On July 03, 2020, the network of European HTA agencies, EUnetHTA, published the final report for the Rapid Relative Effectiveness Assessment OTCA24 ‘The 24-hour blood pressure measurement device Mobil-O- Graph® with the built-in algorithm ARCSolver® to measure arterial stiffness for the optimization of hypertension treatment.” Read more

06

Aug 2020

On behalf of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) investigated whether (former) heavy smokers within statutory health insurance (SHI) should be offered lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). Read more

05

Aug 2020

In July 2020, two new apps entered the level 1 of the mHealthBelgium validation pyramid. Healthentia is an eClinical platform to record Real World Data, that can be used either in clinical trials or by healthy individuals. Sunrise (class IIa) sleep testing device allows rapid and at home diagnosing respiratory sleep disorders. Read more

04

Aug 2020

The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. New procedure codes concern planning, insertion, and removal of high/low dose rate radioactive treatment (brachytherapy) into a prostate tumor, open/laparoscopic repair of Spigelian hernia, and others. The codes are introduced with a recommended adoption date being the 1st of August 2020. The document also contains a list of textual changes in codes and unacceptable combinations. There were no changes to the CCSD Schedule of Diagnostic Tests. Read more

03

Aug 2020

In June 2020, santésuisse (the leading organization of Swiss health insurers) and the Swiss Society of Surgeons (FCMH) have submitted a proposal to the Federal Council for the acceptance of 67 lump-sum payment packages for out-patient services. In July 2020, eight more lump-sum payment packages were suggested to the Federal Council. More suggestions are expected in the near future. Read more

31

Jul 2020

In June 2020, the Andalusian Health Technology Assessment Department (AETSA) published an update of the earlier report (2012) on assessment of effectiveness and safety of tumor treating fields (TTF) therapy in glioblastoma. Read more

30

Jul 2020

In late June 2020, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) published funding priorities on its website. For the first time, the decision on the funding priorities was preceded by a consultation process. Healthcare stakeholders who are not members of the Innovation Committee were asked to come up with suggestions for funding topics and criteria. Read more