e-Health

In order to promote the video consultations, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband) have agreed on several new regulations. Thus, a video consultation will also be possible if the patient has not been previously treated by the doctor. For psychotherapies, the video consultations were reopened.

Outcomes Based Healthcare and My Diabetes My Way have been selected as Health Data Research UK (HDRUK) Sandbox projects.

In Sweden, the Centre for Assessment of Medical Technology (CAMTÖ) leads the development of HTA cooperation in the healthcare region Uppsala-Örebro. In September 2019, CAMTÖ released a systematic review on SMS alerts to laypersons for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) that aimed to clarify SMS efficacy on survival after OHCA. Currently, the best available evidence does not support the use of SMS alarm to laymen as a means of improving survival after OHCA.

NHSX is working with the market at a national level to create a platform of digital tools like NHS Login that can be built on by digital health innovators.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has launched a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) imaging priority program "Radiomics: Next Generation Medical Imaging" (“Radiomics: Nächste Generation der medizinischen Bildgebung”). More than 8 million euros will flow into the program in the next three years. The program will be coordinated by the University Hospital Freiburg.

MTRC has developed three reports on the key market access topics, including innovation funding, health technology assessment and funding frameworks for medical devices. These reports help to understand the relevance of these frameworks to certain types of medical technologies, including E-Health technologies. This post provides some key facts about the HTA, funding and innovation payment landscape for cardiovascular devices in Europe.

At the beginning of August 2019, North Rhine-Westphalia presented the plans for “Virtual Hospital,” a digital platform that will bundle specialist expertise nationwide and make it more accessible.

A positive conclusion regarding the model project “Rhineland-Palatinate breathes through - telemedicine for healthy lungs” (“Rheinland-Pfalz atmet durch – Telemedizin für eine gesunde Lunge”) was drawn by the Mainz Ministry of Health.

National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI) is currently developing a framework for the reimbursement of telemedicine and health apps (mHealth).

The draft for a “Digital Supply Law,” approved by the Cabinet on July 10, 2019, promotes digitization in the health sector. Among other things, the law should help to accelerate the integration of digital applications into the standard care, to further develop and promote the use of the electronic patient record (ePA), to strengthen telemedicine and to connect more actors to the telematics infrastructure.

Zorg van Nu information team published a brochure with regulations for stimulating digital care in the Netherlands. The brochure with the description of 16 schemes clearly explains which regulations are applicable for which e-health innovations.

NHSX has officially launched in July 2019 bringing together teams from the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and NHS Improvement, to lead the largest digital health and social care transformation program in the world. With an investment of more than £1 billion pounds a year nationally and a significant additional spend locally, NHSX has been created to give staff and citizens the technology they need.