Health technology assessment

In February 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedure Guidance (stereotactic radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia, and microwave ablation for primary or metastatic cancer in the lung), two new Diagnostic Guidance (EarlyCDT Lung for assessing the risk of lung cancer in solid lung nodules, PredictSURE IBD and IBDX to guide treatment of Crohn's disease), and four new Medtech Innovation Briefings (Insides System for managing intestinal failure, d-Nav insulin management app for type 2 diabetes, GaitSmart for personalized exercise rehabilitation, AposHealth for knee osteoarthritis)

On March 17, 2022, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) published a standard for telemonitoring of patients with implantable cardiac devices (implantable defibrillators and pacemakers). In January 2022, the HAS also published standards for medical telemonitoring of four chronic pathologies (chronic respiratory failure, chronic heart failure, chronic renal failure, and diabetes). All these standards must be met by technologies in order to be reimbursed by the new reimbursement framework for telemonitoring, which is expected to enter into force in July 2022.

The HTA body of the Tuscany Regional Healthcare issues two types of documents: HTA forms and motivational forms. With regional decree 4229 of March 11, 2022, Tuscany Regional Healthcare has published assessments of two medical devices in the cardiovascular and ENT fields of care.

The HTA body of the Tuscany Regional Healthcare issues two types of documents: HTA forms and motivational forms. With a regional decree 2472 of February 10, 2022, Tuscany Regional Healthcare has published assessments of five medical devices of various therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular and peripheral vascular areas.

The Belgian Health Care Knowledge Center (KCE) initiated a study aimed at defining a clear and transparent procedure for the evaluation of digital health technologies in Belgium.

On February 07, 2022, the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency has announced the withdrawal of the assessments of the PhysioMem PM 100 and CardioMem CM 100 XT and the finalization of the assessments of the Zenicor ECG, Coala Heart Monitor Pro, and KardiaMobile. For the conducted assessments, it was outlined that the portable devices provide more limited information than standard ECG measurements; therefore, it was mainly estimated for atrial fibrillation.

In February 2022, the Finnish Coordinating Center for Health Technology Assessment announced the release of the seven accomplished rapid hospital assessments performed by the Helsinki, Tampere, and Oulu University Hospital. The accomplished rapid HTAs concern the diagnostic imaging, e-Health, endocrine, endoscopy, men’s health, neuromodulation technology groups.

At the end of February 2022, the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) has launched a theme survey on products for monitoring and diagnostics of sepsis to identify products that may be relevant for health economic assessments at TLV. The suggestions for the products of interest, ongoing clinical studies, or innovation projects could be received until 23 March 2022.

On February 14, 2022, the Danish Treatment Council (Behandlingsråd), a new body for assessing treatments and health technologies that became fully operational in late May 2021, has announced its symposium, which will take place in Aalborg on May 11, 2022.

In January 2022, the Basque Office for Health Technology Assessment (OSTEBA) released an HTA report aiming to assess and compare the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of the mechanical circulatory support devices most used in the healthcare setting for the treatment and prevention of cardiogenic shock, including Impella® devices, intra-aortic balloon pumps, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

On January 26, 2022, the HAS published standards for medical telemonitoring of four chronic pathologies (chronic respiratory failure, chronic heart failure, chronic renal failure, and diabetes). These standards must be met by technologies in order to be reimbursed by the new reimbursement framework for telemonitoring, which is expected to enter into force in July 2022.

The "New Method" is currently developing criteria for which methods other than drugs shall be prioritized for assessment within the framework at the national or local levels. On January 17, 2022, the project status was presented at the Ordering Forum for "New Method." It was reported that the project would require more resources and time than initially thought.