Health technology assessment

In April 2023, the Finnish Coordinating Center for Health Technology Assessment (FinCCHTA) released three health technology assessments in the field of eHealth, including the assessment of Thermidas thermal imaging system as well as two comparison reports of Digi-HTA with NorDEC and DiGAV frameworks.

In April 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published seven new Interventional Procedure Guidance (concerned Daytime intraoral neuromuscular electrical tongue stimulation, endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage, maximal cytoreductive surgery in ovarian cancer, percutaneous thoracic duct embolization, radiofrequency ablation for spinal metastases, high-intensity focused ultrasound for prostate cancer), one new Medical Technologies Guidance (AposHealth for knee osteoarthritis), and one Medtech Innovation Briefing (Fasciotens for abdominal wall closure). Also, three clinical guidelines were updated.

In April 2023, Swedish Medical Technologies Product (MTP) Council recommended that Magtrace and Sentimag be used for locating sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer. The products were evaluated within the Orderly introduction framework, in which all Swedish regions collaborate to manage the national introduction of innovative medical technologies.

In April 2023, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (Zorginstituut Nederland, ZIN) published the updated 2023 version of the assessment framework of the "state of science and practice" criteria, including the assessment framework itself, modules with additional explanations for its application, and other information material.

In March 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 concerned total ankle replacement versus ankle arthrodesis in end-stage osteoarthritis, and techniques for managing an impacted fetal head during emergency cesarean section. 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.

The Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency is currently conducting several health economic assessments of products for electrical spinal cord stimulation. The assessments were commissioned by the Medical Technology Product Council as the first step of the national Orderly Introduction process for new medical devices. The evaluations are planned to be accomplished during 2023.

In March 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedure Guidance (percutaneous transluminal renal sympathetic denervation for resistant hypertension, endoluminal gastroplication for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease), three new Health Technology Evaluations via piloted early value assessment approach (CaRi-Heart for predicting cardiac risk in suspected coronary artery disease, ProKnow cloud-based system for radiotherapy data storage, and Genedrive MT-RNR1 ID Kit for detecting a genetic variant), and two new MedTech Innovation Briefings (QBTest and BPMpathway). No new clinical guidelines were published.

In March 2023, the Spanish Network of Health Technology and Services Assessment Agencies of the National Health System (RedETS) published its 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. The objective of the Plan is to define the main lines of the activities to be carried out and the decision criteria to be used during the 2022-2025 period in order to respond to the needs of the National Health System and continue on the path of excellence.

In February 2023, the Scottish Health Technology Group, SHTG, released three MedTech-related assessments: selective internal radiation therapies (SIRT) for treating primary hepatocellular carcinoma, Feeling Good app, store-and-forward teledermatology for triage of primary care referrals.

In January-February 2023, Health Technology Wales published sixteen Medtech-related Topic Exploration Reports (TER), including stereotactic radiosurgery, percutaneous implantation of pulmonary artery pressure sensors, ambulatory patch ECG devices, and others; however, Health Technology Wales will not proceed with full appraisals on these topics. No Guidance was released for Medtech in January-February 2023.

In March 2023, a new ‘AI and Digital Regulations Service’ for developers and adopters of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies was launched in England. Four organizations provide this multi-agency advisory service: NICE, Care Quality Commission, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and Health Research Authority. The website is currently in public beta and focused on information for developers.

The Ministry of Health has commissioned the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS) to develop, with the collaboration of the various agencies that make up the Spanish Network of Agencies for the Evaluation of Health Technologies and Benefits (RedETS), a specific methodological framework for the evaluation of digital health technologies that would allow a comprehensive assessment of this type of technology. The methodological framework is in the final phase of development.