Orthopedic procedures

On June 7, 2022, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) published the overview of the 32 innovative healthcare research projects that will be funded, including those belonging to the eHealth technology group.

On June 7, 2022, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) published the overview of the 32 innovative healthcare research projects that will be funded. The projects concerning the technologies belonging to eHealth, obstetrics and gynecology, pulmonary and airways, orthopedics, and other technology groups received funding.

In April 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedure Guidance (intramedullary distraction for upper limb lengthening, liposuction for chronic lymphoedema). Also, one new clinical guideline on epilepsies in children, young people, and adults was published, and one for stroke and transient ischaemic attack in over 16s was updated.

On April 4, 2022, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) announced funding from the G-BA Innovation Fund for 18 innovative healthcare research projects dedicated to medical guidelines.

In March 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published five new Interventional Procedure Guidance (endoscopic balloon dilation for subglottic or tracheal stenosis, intramedullary distraction for lower limb lengthening, endoscopic full thickness removal of gastrointestinal stromal tumors of the stomach, percutaneous insertion of a cystic duct stent after cholecystostomy, and liposuction for chronic lipoedema), four new Medical Technologies Guidance (myCOPD, UroShield, Prontosan for wounds, and 3C Patch for diabetic foot ulcers), one new Diagnostic Guidance (terminated assessment of Freelite assays for multiple myeloma), and six new Medtech Innovation Briefings (Genedrive MT-RNR1 ID System, icobrain for multiple sclerosis, Al for analyzing chest X-ray images, and others). Also, three new clinical guidelines were published, and six were updated.

In February 2022, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in England released six MedTech-related reports in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned biomarkers for assessing acute kidney injury, non-invasive testing for neovascular macular degeneration, decision support tool to prevent falls in older people, endometrial scratch, distal radius fracture, and test for group B Streptococcus. 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.

On February 17, 2022, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has decided to include the method of matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation (M-ACI) on the knee joint in the case of symptomatic cartilage damage in the lists of reimbursed procedures in the hospital and ambulatory settings.

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.

In December 2021, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 0181 and 0078 with changes to be implemented no later than February 01, 2022. Seven new procedure codes and four new diagnostic codes were introduced.

On December 16, 2021, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) announced the start of the procedure concerning a co-funded study in accordance with §137e of the Social Code Book V (SGB V) for a low-intensity pulsed ultrasound for the treatment of pseudarthroses.

In mid-December 2021, the Danish Health Data Agency (Sundhedsstyrelsen) published the Health Care Classification System (Sundheds-væsenets Klassifikations System, SKS). The most significant changes include: 41 new diagnosis codes and 21 procedure codes were added. The newly added procedure codes concern mainly spine area and orthopedic procedures.

On December 17, 2021, NHS Digital released HRG4+ Consultation Grouper for 2022/23. This release is used to support the NHS England and Improvement consultation process for the 2022/23 National Tariff Payment System. In general, there are significant changes in base HRG design. A total of 120 new HRGs were created, multiple HRGs were removed, and the grouping logic was updated significantly. This Consultation Grouper will be superseded by the 2022/23 Local Payment Grouper in March 2022, for use from April 01, 2022.