ENT

In Scotland, the Scottish Health Technology Group (SHTG) develops HTAs and clinical guidelines to support decision-making. The assessments on artificial intelligence supported clinician review of chest X-rays from patients with suspected lung cancer; an assessment of local anesthetic biopsies of suspicious laryngeal and pharyngeal lesions; a digital prevention program for people at risk of Type 2 diabetes were published in the first quarter of 2024.

In March 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released four MedTech-related assessments in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned septoplasty in deviated nasal septum, software with AI-derived algorithms for analyzing CT brain scans, KardiaMobile 6L for measuring QT interval, and surgical management of pelvic fractures. HTA Journal publishes research reports on the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage, and provide care in the NHS and informs National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.

On April 3, 2024, the revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for the second quarter of 2024 was published. The changes introduced mainly concern updating the content of several EBM sections with the respective comments and/or clarifications and introducing the new EBM codes for the services provided within the co-funded study on sleep position therapy in mild to moderate position-dependent obstructive sleep apnea.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new recommendations about add-on reimbursement of medical devices and medical aids from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS) in March 2024. Twelve recommendations were published concerning the registration of medical devices or modification of registration conditions/extension of indications for the medical devices in the List of Reimbursable Products and Services (LPPR). Opinions concern cardiovascular, neurovascular, ENT, and surgical devices, interventional radiology and endoscopy procedures, as well as medical aids.

In February 2024, the Basque Office for Health Technology Assessment (OSTEBA) is working on several HTAs, including evaluations in the cardiovascular, e-health, ENT, IVD, and some other fields.

On January 30, 2024, the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) published the list of the requests for innovation funding (NUB) that were submitted by the hospitals in 2023. The medical technologies of cardiovascular, ENT, extracorporeal, gastrointestinal, neuromodulation, and other technology groups obtained positive status 1.

On November 7, 2023, the annual update of the Swedish NordDRG system was published to come into force on January 1, 2024. A total of 16 new DRGs will be implemented concerning ENT, radiology, and primary care.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new recommendations about add-on reimbursement of medical devices and medical aids from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS) in September 2023. Twenty recommendations were published in relation to the registration, modification of registration conditions, and renewal of registration for devices in the List of reimbursable products and services (LPPR). Opinions concern, peripheral vascular and neurovascular, neurology and neurosurgery, ENT, spine, ophthalmology, and orthopedic devices, as well as medical aids.

In September 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published three new Interventional Procedure Guidance (removal, preservation, and reimplantation of ovarian tissue for restoring fertility, transurethral water-jet ablation for lower urinary tract symptoms, cryotherapy for chronic rhinitis), and three Health Technology Evaluations using early value assessment (AI-derived software to analyze chest X-rays for suspected lung cancer, AI technologies to aid contouring for radiotherapy planning, KardiaMobile 6L for adults having antipsychotic medication). Also, two new clinical guidelines were published, and three were updated.

On June 30, 2023, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) published the determined funding priorities for healthcare research projects (five topics) and clinical guidelines (four topics).

In April 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published seven new Interventional Procedure Guidance (concerned Daytime intraoral neuromuscular electrical tongue stimulation, endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage, maximal cytoreductive surgery in ovarian cancer, percutaneous thoracic duct embolization, radiofrequency ablation for spinal metastases, high-intensity focused ultrasound for prostate cancer), one new Medical Technologies Guidance (AposHealth for knee osteoarthritis), and one Medtech Innovation Briefing (Fasciotens for abdominal wall closure). Also, three clinical guidelines were updated.

OPCS-4 is the clinical coding classification of interventions and procedures undertaken within the NHS in England. It is updated every three years, reflecting current clinical practice to be used for statistical purposes and reimbursement. On April 1, 2023, a new version (OPCS-4.10) came into force. A total of 236 new four-character codes were introduced in multiple areas, including cardiovascular, endoscopy, ENT, gastrointestinal, urology, neurology, gynecology, breast reconstruction, and others.