Radiotherapy

In November 2024, the Galician Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AVALIA-T) is working on several HTAs, including in cardiovascular, e-health, ICU/OR, in-vitro diagnostics, neurology and neurosurgery, neuromodulation, orthopedics, pulmonary and airways, radiotherapy, surgical procedures, and some other fields.

On October 31, 2024, the Swiss Federal Statistics Office (UFS) released the systematic version of the procedure code (CHOP) nomenclature for 2025. The nomenclature is now available in German, Italian, and French languages and will come into force on January 1, 2025. Multiple new procedure codes were introduced in various fields, including endoscopy, extracorporeal treatments, in-vitro diagnostics, interventional radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, and radiotherapy.

In July 2024, the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) awarded thirteen projects under the 2025 round of the Efficiency Research program, including one project on e-health, one project on extracorporeal treatments, one project in orthopedics, one project in neurology, one project in urology, two projects in obstetrics and gynecology, one project in radiotherapy and one project in the cardiovascular area.

On June 18, 2024, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health published the changes that will occur to the Services Ordinance (KLV/OPre), which determines coverage of medical services in Switzerland. The updates will enter into force on July 1, 2024, and they relate to the list of explicitly evaluated services (Annex 1 of KLV/OPre), outpatient-before-hospital services (Annex 1a), List of Tools and Equipment (Annex 2), and List of Analyses (Annex 3).

In April 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedures Guidance (lymphovenous anastomosis during axillary or inguinal node dissection, epidermal radiotherapy using rhenium-188 paste), two new Medical Technologies Guidance (Kurin Lock for blood culture collection and GaitSmart rehabilitation exercise program), and one new Health Technology Evaluation using early value assessment approach (digital technologies to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation programs for adults with COPD). Furthermore, two clinical guidelines were updated.

In late March 2024, NHS England released the amended 2023/25 NHS Payment Scheme (NHSPS) to come into force on April 1, 2024. No changes were made to the general payment model. Eight new items were added to the High Cost Devices List, and one new device was added to the MedTech Funding Mandate. New reimbursement codes and tariffs for three types of specialist radiotherapy were introduced. Furthermore, HRG tariffs were uplifted for 2024/25.

In March 2024, the Evaluation and Planning Service of the Canary Islands Health Service (SESCS) is working on several HTAs, including evaluations in the cardiovascular, endocrine, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, surgical procedures, and some other fields.

In December 2023, NHS England launched a consultation regarding proposed changes in the 2023/25 NHS Payment Scheme for the 2024/25 financial year. The key changes concerned the High Cost Device List, top-up payments for specialized services, and payment for radiotherapy. The deadline for submitting comments is January 26, 2024.

In December 2023, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN) published two coverage positions on high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in patients with essential tremor with positive recommendation for coverage under basic insurance package, and on radiotherapy with magnetic resonance linear accelerator, which was not recommended for coverage under the basic insurance package.

In November 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released one MedTech-related assessment in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned posterior hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy for early breast cancer 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.

On October 10, 2023, NHS England published an updated work plan for specialized clinical commissioning policies development (as of October 2, 2023). Two MedTech-related policies were added to the program: Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery for essential tremor in adults; Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy for the treatment of primary kidney cancer. The status of ongoing policies was updated.

The revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog came into force on October 1, 2023. The most significant changes concern the introduction of the new EBM codes for several IVD tests, prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography, as well as for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in vestibular schwannomas.