Robotic surgery

On June 30, 2025, the document "Changes and innovations in the 2026 LKF model" (Änderungen und Neuerungen in den LKF-Modellen 2026) was published. The document summarizes the most significant changes and innovations in the LKF model for inpatient and outpatient care. The procedure codes expected to be introduced in 2026 mainly concern e-health, endoscopy, interventional radiology, orthopedics, pulmonology, and robotic fields.

On July 3, 2025, the UK Government published the 10 Year Health Plan for England as part of its mission to build a health service fit for the future. It sets out how the government will reinvent the NHS through three radical shifts - hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. This transition will be supported by a new NHS operating model, improved transparency of care quality, a redesigned workforce model, innovation to power transformation, and a new financial foundation. Five transformative technologies will drive reform: data, AI, genomics, wearables, and robotics. Other MedTech-related initiatives include expanding NICE's technology appraisals to devices, diagnostics, and digital products and implementing the 'Innovator passport'.

In May 2025, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN) published the Trendwatch Report on Healthcare Innovations in Specialist Medical Care, identifying 316 MedTech innovations across 11 clusters, with AI-driven diagnostics, predictive models, and image-guided therapy predicted to have the highest impact in the medical specialist care, while also highlighting significant risks associated with assistive robotics and wearable monitoring technologies for inclusion in basic health insurance.

In the first quarter of 2025, the Swedish Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) published two health technology assessments in the robotic surgery field and proceeded with working on HTAs in the e-health, endocrine, and neurosurgery fields.

In April 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedures Guidance (Balloon disimpaction of the baby’s head during the cesarean section) and two Early Value Assessments (Robot-assisted surgery for soft tissue and orthopedic procedures). Furthermore, one new clinical guideline was published, and one was updated.

In March 2025, the Decision Forum for the "New Methods" framework made a favorable coverage decision for robotic-assisted prostatectomy, hysterectomy, and rectal resection in cancer indications.

On December 12, 2024, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 199 and 095 with changes to be implemented no later than February 10, 2025. Five new procedure codes related to diagnostic imaging, robotic surgery, and peripheral vascular, as well as one new diagnostic code, were introduced.

In November 2024, the following ongoing mini-HTA assessments for cardiovascular, diagnostic imaging, e-health, gastrointestinal, in-vitro diagnostics, interventional radiology, men’s health, pulmonary and airways, robotic surgery, and some other fields are evaluated as a part of a framework for the managed introduction of innovations "New Methods" in Norway.

On October 24, 2024, the BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) published the final version of the 2025 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 in Germany. Multiple new procedure codes were introduced in several fields, including cardiovascular, endoscopic, peripheral vascular, and robotic surgery.

On October 10, 2024, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 198 and 094 with changes to be implemented no later than December 5, 2024. Fifty-two new procedure codes related to ENT, gastrointestinal, men’s health, urology, neurology and neurosurgery, gynecology, orthopedics, robotic surgery, and surgical procedures areas, and two new diagnostic codes were introduced.

In August 2024, NICE prioritization board decisions were published regarding the following Med Tech-related topics: clinical guidelines on lower urinary tract symptoms in men (prioritized), NPi-200 for pupillary light reflex in critical care (not prioritized), Aquablation robotic therapy in benign prostatic hyperplasia (not prioritized), and tumor treating fields in glioblastoma (not prioritized).

NICE recently introduced a new centralized approach to prioritizing topics for its guidance and a decision-making body - a prioritization board. In July 2024, the decisions of the prioritization board were first published by NICE. Sixteen topics were prioritized, twenty were not prioritized, and one was withdrawn.