Surgery for rotator cuff tears is awaiting coverage decision in Norway

Norway has a national system for the introduction of new health technologies within the specialist health service (“New Methods” framework) through either a national or hospital-based health technology assessment. This framework is mandatory for all innovations before being funded.

The "New Method" framework initiated the reassessment of surgery for rotator cuff tears in 2020. In January 2023, the method assessment phase was completed, and the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) report was published. NIPH evaluated rotator cuff repair compared with non-surgical treatment for degenerative full-thickness rotator cuff tears. The conclusions included the following:

• Surgical repair makes little or no clinically relevant difference in pain, night pain, function, and health-related quality of life compared to non-surgical treatment at one year;
• A cost-effectiveness analysis with a time horizon of five years showed that surgery is more expensive than non-surgical treatment. The potential cost savings by choosing non-surgical treatment over surgery is estimated to be 81 million NOK, but the results are uncertain since surgery would be the appropriate treatment option for some patients.

As the recommendations from HTA are now available, the Decision Forum needs to make a coverage decision regarding the method.

See more information in Norwegian here.

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