Health technology assessment

On July 17, 2022, the Austrian Institute for HTA (AIHTA) published four decision support documents, which provide recommendations regarding the inclusion of new medical interventions in the catalog of individual medical services of the performance-oriented hospital financing (Leistungsorientierten Krankenanstaltenfinanzierung, LKF) model, as well as three updates to previous decision support documents.

In June 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedure Guidance (irreversible electroporation for treating prostate cancer) and one new Diagnostic Guidance (AI-derived computer-aided detection (CAD) software for detecting and measuring lung nodules in CT scan images). Also, three 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 13989 of June 29, 2023, Tuscany Regional Healthcare has published assessments of nine medical devices in the cardiovascular, peripheral vascular, diagnostic imaging areas, and surgical procedures.

In June 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published five new Interventional Procedure Guidance (intraoperative electron beam radiotherapy, minimally invasive fusionless posterior-approach surgery to correct idiopathic scoliosis, endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage, radiofrequency denervation for osteoarthritic knee pain, and Botulinum toxin type A injections into the urethral sphincter), two new Diagnostic Guidance (transperineal biopsy for prostate cancer, and FibroScan for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis), and two Medtech Innovation Briefings (MiraQ cardiac TTFM, Proov Confirm; their development started before April 2023). Also, four clinical guidelines were updated.

On June 27, 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) launched a consultation on the updated health technology evaluation process manual, initially published in January 2022. Key changes concerned introducing a new faster approach to technology appraisal development. The deadline for comments submission is July 25, 2023.

On June 13, 2023, the Swedish Medical Technologies Product (MTP) Council recommended that all regions delay the introduction of robotic systems for knee, hip, and spine surgery until they have been evaluated as part of the Orderly introduction framework. For now, MTP Council recommends robotic systems in these indications only to be used in the context of research.

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 11957 of June 07, 2023, Tuscany Regional Healthcare has published assessments of two medical devices in the cardiovascular and spine areas.

In May 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released two MedTech-related reports in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which endoscopic radiofrequency ablation in malignant biliary obstruction and screening for ovarian 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.

n the period of April-May 2023, the Galician Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AVALIA-T) initiated the five health technology assessments referred to IVD, nephrology and urology, obstetrics and gynecology, pulmonary and airways as well as surgical procedures technology groups. The assessments on stereotactic virtual navigation system for percutaneous puncture as well as tumor ablation and invasive telemonitoring of pulmonary pressure in patients with heart failure were released.

In May 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedure Guidance (intramuscular diaphragm stimulation for ventilator-dependent chronic respiratory failure from high spinal cord injuries), two new Diagnostic Guidance (MRI fusion biopsy systems for diagnosing prostate cancer, automated ankle-brachial pressure index measurement devices to detect peripheral arterial disease), and three new Health Technology Evaluations (Digitally enabled therapies for adults with anxiety disorders / with depression, and point-of-care tests for urinary tract infections). Also, four clinical guidelines were updated.

In May 2023, NICE announced that the Medtech innovation briefing (MIB) program was discontinued. MIBs were a part of the advice program at NICE commissioned by NHS England in 2014 to support the 5-Year Forward View and accelerate innovations. NICE will now focus on introducing new approaches to evaluating the most promising health technologies.

The European Health and Digital Executive Agency signed the Service Contract for the Provision of Joint Health Technology Assessment Work Supporting the Continuation of EU Cooperation on HTA with the EUnetHTA 21 Consortium. The 24-month contract is due to expire on 16 September 2023, and the EUnetHTA 21 Consortium will cease operating as of this date.