Health technology assessment

On August 31, 2020, Decision Forum decided not to introduce blood-based tests in pregnant women with suspected pre-eclampsia that was evaluated within the New Method framework since 2018

In August 2020, the network of European HTA agencies, EUnetHTA, announced the final plan of the project OTCA26 “Surgical procedures for treatment of obesity.” The key question of the assessment is bariatric surgery for the treatment of adults with obesity.

Earlier in September 2020, the Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment (AIHTA) released a synopsis of the ongoing research project “Reimbursement decisions for medical procedures in Austria: An analysis of factors – besides clinical evidence – influencing reimbursement decisions for the hospital benefit catalog 2010-2020.”

On September 03, 2020, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) opened HTA researcher-led proposal submissions. The proposals can be related to any health problem and should be within the scope of the HTA Program. The closing date is January 6, 2021.

In July 2020, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) issued an update of the methodological guide for the economic evaluation of medical technologies. The main changes aimed to improve the interpretation of the results and the uncertainty, to clarify technical points, and to integrate methodological changes that have occurred since 2011.

On September 7, 2020, the Swiss Medical Board has announced that the organization will discontinue its operations at the end of 2021.

In September 2020, a completed mini-method assessment for the MitraClip for percutaneous mitral valve repair was issued within the New Methods framework. The Oslo University Hospital carried out the evaluation. The method was recommended for routine use in hospitals.

On September 03, 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued medical technologies guidance on Axonics sacral neuromodulation (SNM) system for treating refractory overactive bladder. NICE recommended Axonics SNM to be adopted in the NHS and considered as an alternative when another treatment is not effective.

The first issue of HTA Alerts included 186 reports from European organizations only. This issue included reports, published or initiated from the 1st of August 2020, and ongoing reports. The most common technological fields were cardiovascular, gastroenterology, in-vitro diagnostics, men's health, neuromodulation, and orthopedics. Contact us if you want to receive a sample alert and to learn more about the service.

At the end of July 2020, the network of European HTA agencies, EUnetHTA, announced the final plan of the project OTCA27 “Comparative effectiveness of surgical techniques and devices for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).”

On behalf of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) investigated to what extent adults with symptomatic knee cartilage defect (but without advanced arthrosis) could benefit from autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) of different types: periosteal-covered (ACI-P), collagen-covered (ACI-C) or matrix-associated (M-ACI).

In July 2020, the Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment (AIHTA) issued an updated report on the PET/PET-CT evidence for need-based planning in Austria.