Liver procedures

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 April 2024. Eighteen recommendations were published concerning the registration of medical devices or modification of registration conditions/extension of indications for the medical devices in the List of Reimbursable Products and Services (LPPR). Opinions concern cardiovascular, neurovascular, gastrointestinal, interventional radiology, nephrology and urology, neuromodulation, and orthopedic devices, as well as medical aids.

In December 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released two MedTech-related assessments in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned ablative and non-surgical therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma and hidradenitis suppurativa treatment. 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 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 October 2023. Twelve recommendations were published in relation to the registration of medical devices in the List of reimbursable products and services (LPPR). Opinions concern cardiovascular, e-health, endocrine, gastrointestinal, neurology and neurosurgery, neuromodulation, and orthopedic devices, as well as medical aids.

On September 16, 2021, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has decided that it would not evaluate the proton therapy in a number of indications, including esophageal cancer and inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

In April 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published three new Interventional Procedure Guidance (repetitive short-pulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation for glaucoma, deep brain stimulation for chronic, severe, treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults, and Melphalan chemosaturation for primary or metastatic cancer in the liver) and two Medtech Innovation Briefings (microINR for anticoagulation therapy and RenalSense Clarity RMS for acute kidney injury), and two clinical guidelines (for atrial fibrillation and chronic pain in over 16s).

In March 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published four new Interventional Procedure Guidance (transcervical ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation for symptomatic uterine fibroids, extracorporeal whole liver perfusion, free-functioning gracilis transfer to restore upper limb function, cytoreduction surgery with hyperthermic intraoperative peritoneal chemotherapy), two Medical Technologies Guidance (Danis stent for acute oesophageal variceal bleeding, Alpha-Stim AID for anxiety disorders), two Medtech Innovation Briefings (Sonata system for symptomatic uterine fibroids, Butterfly iQ+ for diagnostic ultrasound), and one Diagnostic Guidance (QAngio XA 3D QFR and CAAS vFFR imaging software for assessing coronary stenosis). Also, five clinical guidelines were updated.

In early July 2019, the network of European HTA agencies, EUnetHTA, published the report titled “Irreversible electroporation for the treatment of liver and pancreatic cancer”.

At the beginning of June 2019, the National Healthcare Institute (Zorginstituut Nederland, ZIN) has published an Overview of the healthcare services, which were excluded or included with restrictions into Basic Insurance Package. Percutaneous liver perfusion with melphalan in patients with metastases from a uveal melanoma was included with restrictions, whereas CardioMEMS PA Monitoring was included in the context of research only.

In mid-February 2019, the Swiss conference of cantonal healthcare directors (GDK/CDS) has published information about allocation of hospitals for highly complex visceral surgery in the fields of oesophageal, pancreatic and hepatic resections.