Hip replacement

On December 19, 2023, the updated Finnish classification of procedures (THL) was published to come into force on January 1, 2024. Thirty-two new procedure codes were implemented concerning cardiovascular, endoscopy, neurology, orthopedic, and other fields.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new recommendations about add-on reimbursement of medical devices and medical aids from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS) in May 2023. Twenty-one 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 (LPPR). Opinions concern cardiovascular and peripheral vascular, endocrine, ENT, gastrointestinal, and orthopedic devices, as well as medical aids.

The French National Authority for Health released new recommendations about add-on reimbursement of medical devices and medical aids from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies in October 2022. Fourteen 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, orthopedic, and ENT devices, as well as medical aids.

In May 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published three new Interventional Procedure Guidance (endoanchoring systems in endovascular aortic aneurysm repair, supercapsular percutaneously assisted total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis, personalized external aortic root support using mesh in people with Marfan syndrome), one Medical Technologies Guidance (Sleepio to treat insomnia and insomnia symptoms), and six Medtech innovation Briefings (ViewSite Brain Access System, Granulox for managing chronic wounds, AMBLor for identifying melanomas, Bladder EpiCheck for detecting bladder cancer recurrence, and others). No MedTech-related clinical guidelines were published.

In February 2021, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England, published Bulletins 0182 and 0079 with changes to be implemented no later than April 10, 2022. Three new procedure codes concerned robotic surgery in orthopaedic area, spinal procedures, and ophthalmology, and five new diagnostic codes were introduced.

Since 2019, several low-cost and simple procedures in Belgium have been reimbursed not via individual INAMI fees but APR-DRG groups. This funding system is called “Low Variability Care”. On January 26, 2022, the list of APR-DRG groups and corresponding reimbursement amounts for 2022 was published.

The report presents a summary of reimbursement situation for total and partial hip replacement in Europe. The following indications will be considered: coxarthrosis, osteonecrosis. The analysis covers procedure coding, payment mechanism, reimbursement tariffs and policy restrictions in 11 EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.