Imaging methods

The revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for ambulatory reimbursement in Germany came into force on October 1, 2020. MTRC has compiled the selection of the most significant changes, concerning In-vitro diagnostics, telemedicine and vacuum wounds therapy.

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.

The German Society for Neurology (DGN) has released a new version of the S1 guideline "Diagnostics and therapy of neurogenic bladder disorders." It is valid until January 2025.

In October 2019, the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS) has released an assessment report regarding the evaluation of Сerenkov luminescence image projection system for intraoperative evaluation of surgical margins in breast, prostate and gastrointestinal cancer. This new technology is expected to get an improvement in the effectiveness of oncological surgery and a reduction in costs.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has launched a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) imaging priority program "Radiomics: Next Generation Medical Imaging" (“Radiomics: Nächste Generation der medizinischen Bildgebung”). More than 8 million euros will flow into the program in the next three years. The program will be coordinated by the University Hospital Freiburg.

MTRC has developed three reports on the key market access topics, including innovation funding, health technology assessment and funding frameworks for medical devices. These reports help to understand the relevance of these frameworks to certain types of medical technologies, including diagnostic imaging technologies. This post provides some key facts about the HTA, funding and innovation payment landscape for cardiovascular devices in Europe.

The mini-HTA for internal emergency medicine ultrasound in patients with urgent medical conditions was released in July 2019 in Norway. The method was determined as efficient, safe, and was recommended to be introduced as part of the clinical routine in the hospital.

The report presents a summary of reimbursement situation for mammography in ambulatory settings. All procedure codes for different types of mammography will be provided in the analysis. 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.

The HTA center of Swedish Västra Götaland region has published a report, which aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of EEG-based neurofeedback as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is uncertain whether the procedure compared with no or standard treatment reduces PTSD symptoms in adult patients. It is also uncertain whether the treatment results in any difference in suicidal thoughts, level of functioning, or medication use.

In October 2018, the Austrian HTA body, the Ludwig-Boltzmann Institue (LBI), published the update on the PET/PET-CT topic. The report was done together with the Berlin Technical University.

New procedure codes will be created for stem cell procedures, extracorporeal techniques (including hemodialysis and CO2 removal), surgical interventions, including growth-controlling spinal correction, transposition of peripheral nerve, interventions on veins, and percutaneous image-guided procedures (including code for pressure measurement in coronary arteries and additional code for drug-eluting balloon). Classification will be enabled from January 1, 2018.

In March 2017, G-BA approved two additional indications for application of PET/CT for management of neck and head tumors in hospital settings after reevaluation of evidence by IQWiG in 2016. New indications concern decision making about need for neck dissection and laryngoscopic biopsy.