e-Health

On June 7, 2024, the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK) informed that the federal government, states, and sickness funds have agreed on concrete actions to implement healthcare reform. The reform will focus on various aspects, such as establishment of special outpatient clinics, the expansion of primary care, and improvement of the situation of digital healthcare.

On June 10, 2024, the National Agency for Regional Health Services (AGENAS) announced an online public consultation on the draft of the “Guidelines on the Evolutionary Pathway of Medical Systems for Telemonitoring”.

In June 2024, the following ongoing mini-HTA assessments for cardiovascular, diagnostic imaging, e-health, endoscopy, gastrointestinal, in-vitro diagnostics, men’s health, neurology and neurosurgery, neuromodulation, peripheral vascular, pulmonary and airways, robotic surgery, and some other fields are evaluated as a part of a framework for the managed introduction of innovations "New Methods" in Norway.

On May 14, 2024, the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) published another update of the 2024 Digital Care Funding Guide, which describes the possibilities for funding digital care depending on the healthcare sector, including new funding for Integrated Care Transformation Plans and the implementation of a novel platform for the assessment of innovative digital applications and/or technologies.

On April 25, 2024, the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Solidarity published an Order in the Official Journal of the French Republic setting the tariffs for digital medical devices with therapeutic functions covered within the early digital support (PECAN) scheme. The tariff for the manufacturer will include an initial lump sum of €435 per patient billable for up to 3 months and a subsequent monthly package of €38.30. The maximum amount of financial compensation is €780 per year per patient.

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.