Sweden

On November 07, 2023, the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) accomplished its work on health economic assessments of Intellis and WaveWriter Alpha – spinal cord stimulation systems used for the treatment of long-term, intractable pain. Overall, TLV assesses that the results uncertainty level is high.

On November 7, 2023, the annual update of the Swedish NordDRG system was published to come into force on January 1, 2024. A total of 16 new DRGs will be implemented concerning ENT, radiology, and primary care.

In October 2023, the annual update of the Swedish procedure coding system (Classification of Health Care Measures, KVÅ) was released to come into force on January 1, 2024. A total of 70 new surgical procedure codes and 17 new medical procedure codes were introduced concerning endoscopy, ENT, men’s health, nephrology and urology, peripheral vascular, and spine.

In October 2023, the Centre for Assessment of Medical Technology in Örebro is working on several HTAs, including evaluations in e-health, ICU/OR, men’s health, orthopedic fields, and other fields.

In September 2023, the Skåne University Hospital is working on several HTAs, including evaluations in the cardiovascular, diagnostic imaging, men’s health, neurology and neurosurgery fields

On August 30, 2023, the National Board of Health and Welfare introduced national screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in newborns. The screening test will identify children with homozygous deletion in the SMN1 gene and 1–3 copies of the SMN2 gene. As a result, those affected by the most severe forms of SMA can receive treatment before the onset of symptoms.

On June 13, 2023, the Swedish Medical Technologies Product (MTP) Council recommended that all regions delay the introduction of robotic systems for knee, hip, and spine surgery until they have been evaluated as part of the Orderly introduction framework. For now, MTP Council recommends robotic systems in these indications only to be used in the context of research.

In April 2023, Swedish Medical Technologies Product (MTP) Council recommended that Magtrace and Sentimag be used for locating sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer. The products were evaluated within the Orderly introduction framework, in which all Swedish regions collaborate to manage the national introduction of innovative medical technologies.

The Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency is currently conducting several health economic assessments of products for electrical spinal cord stimulation. The assessments were commissioned by the Medical Technology Product Council as the first step of the national Orderly Introduction process for new medical devices. The evaluations are planned to be accomplished during 2023.

In February 2023, Swedish Medical Technologies Product (MTP) Council announced ongoing horizon scanning within the Orderly introduction framework for medical technologies to be used in benign prostatic hyperplasia. The Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) initiated a theme survey, accepting suggestions until March 31, 2023.

On January 24, 2023, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare recommended introducing a national screening program for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in newborns. It will identify children with a homozygous deletion in the SMN1 gene and 1–3 copies of the SMN2 gene. SMA testing must be included in the existing newborn screening (so-called PKU test). The launch of the new screening program is expected in the summer of 2023.

In November 2022, the National Board of Health and Welfare released the Swedish version of the NordDRG system to come into force in January 2023, including the list of DRG codes, names, and cost-weights. A total of 77 new DRGs will be implemented. Key new DRGs were introduced in cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and endoscopy fields, also for breast reconstruction and bone-anchored hearing implants.