Digital care

On November 13, 2023, the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia released a user guide on the health technology assessment framework: adaptation for digital health technology (DHT) assessment. The guidelines described can be equally useful for HTA agencies, researchers, and developers of DHT, decision-makers, and regulators.

On October 26, 2023, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) reported that 236 applications were received for innovation funding of healthcare research projects.

On November 08, 2023, the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) published 2024 update of the Digital Care Funding Guide, which describes the possibilities in the funding of digital care depending on the healthcare sector (primary care, medical specialist care, long-term care, etc.).

On October 29, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Prevention published an Order in the Official Journal of the French Republic setting the tariffs for the medical telemonitoring activities covered within the early digital support scheme. The tariffs are set per patient based on the number of patients involved.

On October 20, 2023, the Spanish Ministry of Health announced that a budget of 130 million euros was allocated to support the upcoming launch of the Personalized Digital Care Plan. Healthcare digitalization is already a well-established reality that materialized into the Digital Health Strategy with more than 800 million euros budget allocated since 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between late May and early September 2023, two more health apps were introduced in the Directory of digital health applications (DiGAs) at the Federal Office for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and thus became reimbursable. These apps can be prescribed by physicians and psychotherapists and will be reimbursed by health insurers. In total, 49 health apps are currently available in the DiGA Directory, and six health apps were delisted from the Directory.

On July 31, 2023, the National Committee for the evaluation of medical devices and health technologies (CNEDiMTS) at the French National Authority for Health (HAS) published the first positive opinion on the “Early coverage of digital medical devices” (PECAN) framework. The positive opinion is provided to CUREETY TECHCARE medical telemonitoring solution, which is used for medical telemonitoring of adult cancer patients under systemic treatment and/or treated with radiotherapy.

On July 07, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Prevention announced the implementation of the transitional period for innovative technologies following the experiment under Article 51 of the Social Security Financing Act.

At the end of June 2023, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) published a new document with the goal of improving professional practices: Digital medical devices for professional use – Guide on choosing digital medical devices for professional use.

On July 05, 2023, the new version of the List of reimbursable products and services (LPPR) was released. Five new reimbursement codes for reimbursement of digital medical devices for medical telemonitoring activities were introduced.

On May 23, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Prevention published an Order in the Official Journal of the French Republic setting the tariffs for the medical telemonitoring activities covered by social health insurance in the context of the new framework. The tariffs will differ whether they bring an organizational or clinical (improvement in quality of life, morbidity, or mortality) benefit.

On May 17, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Prevention published the 2023-2027 Digital Health Roadmap. The new roadmap specifies the priorities and the projects to be carried out by 2027. One of the key objectives is to support the implementation and extension of telemonitoring to more chronic pathologies.