On May 6, 2024, the Swedish Medical Technologies Product (MTP) Council commissioned the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) to perform a health economic evaluation of MR-guided focused ultrasound (Exablate Neuro) for the treatment of patients with essential tremor and Parkinson's disease. This evaluation is a part of the Orderly introduction framework, a staged process aimed at managing the national introduction of novel technologies. Based on the TLV assessment, the MTP Council will make recommendations to regions regarding the implementation of the technology and the criteria for use.

MTRC shares the most relevant and impactful publications in the field of market access and HEOR for medical technologies in Europe through its Publications Digest. In a recent publication, Haig et al. developed a comprehensive framework for assessing the value of novel patient-facing Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) used in chronic disease management. The authors utilized a combination of literature review and primary data collection via a three-round web-Delphi exercise involving stakeholders from the USA, the UK, and Germany, resulting in a framework comprising 33 stable indicators across various domains. This framework elicits stakeholder value preferences to guide efficient and evidence-based decision-making in assessing these technologies.

On April 30, 2024, the French National Authority for Health published a decision on the modification of its 2024 work program and updated version of the program.

The HTA body of the Tuscany Regional Healthcare issues three types of documents: full HTA reports, rapid HTA reports, and motivational forms. With regional decree 8521 of April 19, 2024, Tuscany Regional Healthcare published three reassessments of medical devices in the cardiovascular, peripheral vascular, and e-health areas.

MTRC shares the most relevant and impactful publications in the field of market access and HEOR for medical technologies in Europe through its Publications Digest. In a recent publication, Shinkins et al. developed preliminary good practice recommendations for the cost-effectiveness modeling of diagnostic tests. The authors conducted a targeted review of guidance from key Health Technology Assessment bodies and a specific cost-effectiveness study on troponin tests for diagnosing myocardial infarction. Recommendations aimed to improve the quality of cost-effectiveness evaluations of diagnostic tests by addressing the unique challenges in linking evidence on test accuracy to treatment effectiveness data, ultimately facilitating a better understanding of how diagnostic tests impact patient outcomes and costs.

In April 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedures Guidance (lymphovenous anastomosis during axillary or inguinal node dissection, epidermal radiotherapy using rhenium-188 paste), two new Medical Technologies Guidance (Kurin Lock for blood culture collection and GaitSmart rehabilitation exercise program), and one new Health Technology Evaluation using early value assessment approach (digital technologies to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation programs for adults with COPD). Furthermore, two clinical guidelines were updated.

The Draft Order amending the Common Package of Benefits of the National Health System was published in spring 2024. The proposed changes mostly concern screening, primary and community care, eHealth, cardiovascular, and medical aids fields.

On April 18, 2024, the updated version of the Finnish Laboratory Tests Nomenclature was published by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) to come into force on May 1, 2024. A total of four new codes were introduced in the in-vitro diagnostic field.

On April 22, 2024, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) announced that fourteen applications for innovation funding of development or further development of the clinical guidelines were accepted.

In April 2024, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 195 and 091 with changes to be implemented no later than June 12, 2024. Ninety new procedure codes and five new diagnostic codes were implemented in ENT, gastrointestinal, in-vitro diagnostics, nephrology and urology, neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonary and airways, orthopedics, robotic surgery, men's health, and general surgery fields.

The Ministry of the Interior and Health is currently working on the establishment of the Board for Health Apps (Nævnet for sundhedsapps). It is expected that the Board's purpose will be to assess whether the health apps can be recommended to citizens and healthcare professionals in Denmark. The Executive order on the rules of procedure of the Board for Health Apps is expected to enter into force on July 1, 2024, and the Board is foreseen to meet as soon as possible after this.

On April 18, 2024, the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Solidarity published the Order in the Official Journal of the French Republic, setting DRG tariffs and tariffs for other packages and supplements for 2024. New tariffs are applicable from March 1, 2024.