e-Health

On May 3, 2024, the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Healthcare awarded £3.2 million to 22 innovations to improve patient care and save money while making the NHS greener. These include projects to explore the decontamination and recycling of single-use plastics, the use of at-home finger prick blood tests, and health apps.

The HTA body of the Tuscany Regional Healthcare issues three types of documents: full HTA reports, rapid HTA reports, and motivational forms. With regional decree 8521 of April 19, 2024, Tuscany Regional Healthcare published three reassessments of medical devices in the cardiovascular, peripheral vascular, and e-health areas.

In April 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedures Guidance (lymphovenous anastomosis during axillary or inguinal node dissection, epidermal radiotherapy using rhenium-188 paste), two new Medical Technologies Guidance (Kurin Lock for blood culture collection and GaitSmart rehabilitation exercise program), and one new Health Technology Evaluation using early value assessment approach (digital technologies to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation programs for adults with COPD). Furthermore, two clinical guidelines were updated.

The Draft Order amending the Common Package of Benefits of the National Health System was published in spring 2024. The proposed changes mostly concern screening, primary and community care, eHealth, cardiovascular, and medical aids fields.

The Ministry of the Interior and Health is currently working on the establishment of the Board for Health Apps (Nævnet for sundhedsapps). It is expected that the Board's purpose will be to assess whether the health apps can be recommended to citizens and healthcare professionals in Denmark. The Executive order on the rules of procedure of the Board for Health Apps is expected to enter into force on July 1, 2024, and the Board is foreseen to meet as soon as possible after this.

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 Excellence (NICE) published two new Health Technology Evaluations using early value assessment (digital health technologies to help manage symptoms of psychosis and prevent relapse in adults and young people, and digital technologies for managing non-specific low back pain). Furthermore, three new clinical guidelines were published, four clinical guidelines, and two Health Technology Evaluations were updated.

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.

In February 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedures Guidance on endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty for obesity. Furthermore, one Health Technology Evaluation using early value assessment (digitally enabled therapies for adults with depression) was updated.

In March 2024, several ongoing mini-HTA assessments for diagnostic imaging, e-health, endoscopic procedures, IVD, neuromodulation, peripheral vascular, and some other fields are evaluated as a part of a framework for the managed introduction of innovations "New Methods in Norway.

On February 28, 2024, the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Solidarity published an Order in the Official Journal of the French Republic setting the tariffs for the medical telemonitoring activities for patients with defibrillators and cardiac pacemakers. The half-yearly tariff for the distributor of digital medical devices is set at €550 per patient for the first 4,999 patients.

In February 2024, Danish Regions announced the launch of the National board for digitization and data in health and elderly. The new National Board will have decision-making competence regarding digital solutions and infrastructure, welfare technology, new data-driven technologies, and the use of data for patient treatment, research, statistics, and quality improvement in the health and elderly areas.