Cardiovascular procedures

On December 21, 2023, the revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for the first quarter of 2024 was published. The most significant changes concern the update of Annex 2 of the catalog, the introduction of the new EBM codes for external electrical cardioversion in adult and pediatric patients, follow-up and evaluation of the health app companion patella, as well as a companion diagnostics test for genotyping to determine CYP2C19 metabolism status.

On November 29, 2023, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health published the changes that will occur to the Services Ordinance (KLV/OPre), which determines coverage of medical services in Switzerland. The updates will enter into force on January 1 or July 1, 2024, and they relate to the list of explicitly evaluated services (Annex 1 of KLV/OPre), outpatient-before-hospital services (Annex 1a), List of Tools and Equipment (Annex 2), and List of Analyses (Annex 3).

On December 1, 2023, the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI/RIZIV) updated several articles of the Nomenclature. New procedure codes with reimbursement fees and associated conditions concerning cardiovascular, neurology, and obstetrics fields were added.

On November 30, 2023, the entity managing the DRG system in Switzerland, SwissDRG, published the final version of the 2024 DRG system. In total, 34 new DRGs were introduced, and they concern cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, men’s health, nephrology and urology, neurology and neurosurgery, neuromodulation, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, pulmonary, and some other technology groups. Also, two new add-on reimbursement categories were introduced.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, two new health technology assessments were initiated by the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System (AOTMiT). The assessments belong to the cardiovascular and neurovascular technology groups.

In November 2023, the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS) informed that the La Marató Foundation selected 36 cardiovascular projects together with eight other projects in a ranked reservation list to be funded.

On October 26, 2023, the BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) published the final version of the 2024 OPS procedure coding classification. The OPS, together with the ICD-10-GM (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, German Modification), forms the basis for the reimbursement systems in outpatient and inpatient care in Germany.

On September 28, 2023, the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) published the second release of the DRG package for 2024 (RZ24b). One new procedure code, two new supplementary payments, and three new DRGs will be implemented across in-vitro diagnostics, urology, and cardiovascular technology groups.

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 August 2023. Eight 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 cardiovascular, peripheral vascular and neurovascular devices, as well as medical aids.

In August 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedure Guidance (aortic valve reconstruction with glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardium for aortic valve disease) and one new Diagnostic Guidance (quantitative faecal immunochemical testing to guide colorectal cancer pathway referral in primary care). Also, five clinical guidelines were updated.

On August 11, 2024, the BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) published the preliminary version of the 2024 OPS procedure coding classification. The OPS, together with the ICD-10-GM (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, German Modification), forms the basis for the reimbursement systems in inpatient and outpatient care in Germany.

On July 17, 2022, the Austrian Institute for HTA (AIHTA) published four decision support documents, which provide recommendations regarding the inclusion of new medical interventions in the catalog of individual medical services of the performance-oriented hospital financing (Leistungsorientierten Krankenanstaltenfinanzierung, LKF) model, as well as three updates to previous decision support documents.