e-Health

In Q3 2024, Health Technology Wales completed three full appraisals with the publication of Evidence Appraisal Report and Guidance (AI for whole slide prostate biopsy images, AI-assisted endoscopy for gastrointestinal cancer, and Floseal in the treatment of epistaxis). Furthermore, 24 Med Tech-related Topic Exploration Reports were published concerning cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, gynecology, e-health, in-vitro diagnostics, and other areas.

In September 2024, it was announced by the Danish Regions that according to the budget agreements for 2025, all regions have prioritized money to strengthen the local healthcare system (primary care) and ensure a robust hospital system and a continued high level of activity.

The Danish Health Data Authority quarterly updates the Health Care Classification System (SKS). The updated version was published in mid-September 2024 to come into force on October 1, 2024. Eight new medical procedure codes and one new code for diagnostic investigations were introduced concerning obstetrics and gynecology, extracorporeal treatments, spine, cardiovascular, e-health, diagnostic imaging, and some other fields.

In August 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released eight MedTech-related assessments in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned automated devices for identifying peripheral arterial disease, left ventricular assist devices as destination therapy, cerclage suture type to prevent pregnancy loss, gynecological cancer surveillance in Lynch syndrome, multiparametric MRI in bladder cancer pathway, in-home monitoring for people with glaucoma, real-time ultrasound elastography of thyroid nodules, and AI-based software for analyzing chest X-ray images. 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.

In August 2024, NICE published its position statement on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods in the generation and reporting of evidence considered by NICE evaluation programs. According to it, any use of AI should be done judiciously, leveraging the strengths of AI to support and enhance decision-making only when it is suitable and adds value. The use of AI methods should augment human involvement, not replace it.

In July 2024, the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) awarded thirteen projects under the 2025 round of the Efficiency Research program, including one project on e-health, one project on extracorporeal treatments, one project in orthopedics, one project in neurology, one project in urology, two projects in obstetrics and gynecology, one project in radiotherapy and one project in the cardiovascular area.

On August 19, 2024, the Agenda for the meeting of the Board of Danish Regions was published. One of the themes to be discussed during the meeting was the Danish Regions consultation response regarding the Health Structure Commission's report. The meeting was held on August 22, 2024.

On July 25, 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) launched a funding call within the HTA Programme concerning ambitious data-enabled trial proposals (or “e-trials”). Proposed interventions need to be mature enough to be tested on a national scale. The application deadline is November 27, 2024.

NICE recently introduced a new centralized approach to prioritizing topics for its guidance and a decision-making body - a prioritization board. In July 2024, the decisions of the prioritization board were first published by NICE. Sixteen topics were prioritized, twenty were not prioritized, and one was withdrawn.

In early July 2024, Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) awarded seventeen projects under the Efficiency Research program, including four projects on e-health, two projects on diagnostic imaging techniques, two projects in orthopedics, one project on abdominal surgery, one project in gynecology, and one project in the cardiovascular area.

On July 10, 2024, the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) announced the submission of grant applications for research on patient-relevant outcomes and alternative forms of financing for innovative treatment under the Medical Specialist Care and Research (MedZO) program. The submission of grant applications will continue until October 15, 2024.

In July 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released five MedTech-related assessments in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned cloud-based device (CaRi-Heart) for predicting cardiac risk, remote continuous monitoring of Parkinson's disease, home-monitoring for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, treatment of pilonidal sinus disease, and cystatin C in glomerular filtration rate-estimating. 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.