Endoscopic procedures

The French National Authority for Health released new recommendations about add-on reimbursement of medical devices from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies in November 2022. Twenty recommendations were published in relation to the registration, modification of registration conditions, and renewal of registration for devices in the List of reimbursable products and services. Opinions concern cardiovascular, neurovascular and neuromodulation, endocrine, ENT, endoscopic and dermatological devices, as well as devices for men’s health and medical aids.

In November 2022, the National Board of Health and Welfare released the Swedish version of the NordDRG system to come into force in January 2023, including the list of DRG codes, names, and cost-weights. A total of 77 new DRGs will be implemented. Key new DRGs were introduced in cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and endoscopy fields, also for breast reconstruction and bone-anchored hearing implants.

In November 2022, NHS Digital published a final summary of core changes from OPCS-4.9 to OPCS-4.10 to be introduced from April 01, 2023. OPCS-4 is a statistical classification for clinical coding of interventions and procedures undertaken within the NHS. It is updated every three years. A total of 236 new four-character codes will be implemented in OPCS-4.10. Key changes concern cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endoscopy, ENT, nephrology and urology, neurology and neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedic, and breast surgery fields.

On October 27, 2022, the BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) published the final version of the 2023 OPS procedure coding classification. The OPS, together with the ICD-10-GM (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, German Modification), forms the basis for the reimbursement systems in outpatient and inpatient care in Germany.

MedTech-related health technology assessments from NIHR in October 2022 In October 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released one MedTech-related report in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned photodynamic versus white-light-guided resection of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. 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 the second half of October 2022, 47 new procedure codes were introduced by the Code Service of the Finnish National Health and Wellbeing Institution (THL). These codes became valid on November 1, 2022. The introduced codes are dedicated to diagnostic imaging, endoscopy, gastrointestinal, radiotherapy, pulmonary and airways, surgical procedures, and some other fields.

In September 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published three new Interventional Procedure Guidance (removal, preservation and subsequent reimplantation of ovarian tissue, prostatic urethral temporary implant insertion, neurostimulation of lumbar muscles), and one new Medtech Innovation Briefings (iTind). Also, one Medical Technologies Guidance and three Medtech-related clinical guidelines were updated.

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 15937 of August 4, 2022, Tuscany Regional Healthcare has published assessments of six medical devices in various therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular and peripheral vascular areas, neurovascular procedures, gastroenterology, and dermatology.

On July 29, 2022, the Swiss Federal Statistics Office (UFS) published the 2023 version of the procedure code (CHOP) nomenclature in the German language. The newly introduced codes concern various technology groups, such as cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, in-vitro diagnostics, neurology and neurosurgery, interventional radiology, orthopedics, gynecology, and others.

In the second quarter of 2022, Health Technology Wales (HTW) published four MedTech-related guidance (extreme hypofractionated radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer, video laryngoscopes for use in pre-hospital care, electronic blood management systems, and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma). A total of 12 MedTech-related Topic Exploration Reports (TERs) were released in Q2. Based on the TERs conclusions, HTW decided to proceed with a full appraisal on three topics – photobiomodulation, topical oxygen therapy (NATROX) in chronic wounds, and video feedback interventions.

On May 31, 2022, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) published the final positive opinion on the coverage of the endoscopic gastroplasty with the ENDOMINA triangulation platform under the Innovation package (Forfait innovation).

In May 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Research in England released three MedTech-related reports in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned colonoscopy surveillance following adenoma removal and transfer of thawed frozen embryo versus fresh embryo to improve the healthy baby rate in women undergoing IVF, and digital smartphone intervention for schizophrenia. 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 guidance.