Microwave ablation

In July 2024, the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI-RIZIV) approved a new agreement (Convention) allowing reimbursement for percutaneous CT-guided ablation of renal, hepatic, pulmonary, and bone tumors. The agreement will come into force on November 1, 2024, and will be valid until October 31, 2029.

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.

In November 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published five new Interventional Procedure Guidance (extracorporeal shockwave therapy for calcific tendinopathy in the shoulder, balloon disimpaction of the baby's head at emergency cesarean, percutaneous ultrasound-guided microwave ablation for benign thyroid nodules, ab interno canaloplasty for open-angle glaucoma, tunnelled peritoneal drainage catheter insertion), and two new Medical Technologies Guidance (GreenLight XPS, Optilume). Also, one new clinical guideline was published, and one was updated.

On July 15, 2022, the Austrian Institute for HTA (AIHTA) published five 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 four updates to previous decision support documents. The decisions relate mainly to cardiovascular and gastrointestinal technology groups.

In February 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedure Guidance (stereotactic radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia, and microwave ablation for primary or metastatic cancer in the lung), two new Diagnostic Guidance (EarlyCDT Lung for assessing the risk of lung cancer in solid lung nodules, PredictSURE IBD and IBDX to guide treatment of Crohn's disease), and four new Medtech Innovation Briefings (Insides System for managing intestinal failure, d-Nav insulin management app for type 2 diabetes, GaitSmart for personalized exercise rehabilitation, AposHealth for knee osteoarthritis)

In late October 2021, the BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) has published the final version of the 2022 OPS procedure coding classification. The OPS, together with the ICD-10-GM (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, German Modification), forms the basis for the reimbursement systems in outpatient and inpatient care.

The report presents a summary of the reimbursement situation for the use of minimally invasive treatment of lung cancer in Europe. The following procedures ware considered under the scope of analysis: cryotherapy, microwave ablation, photodynamic therapy, radiofrequency ablation of lung. Open and VATS lobectomy will be considered as a comparator. 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. It is also possible to add analysis in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Romania, Russia and Turkey.