UK

In late February 2021, the Delen collaboration platform of NHS Digital issued 2021 National Clinical Coding Standards (NCCS) OPCS-4.9 and ICD-10 reference books that must be used during the procedure and diagnosis coding from April 01, 2021. The updates mainly concerned endoscopic procedures, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of the liver, peripheral vascular procedures using stents and stent-grafts, gynecological procedures using meshes, and bone densitometry.

On February 23, 2021, NHSX launched Digital Technology Assessment Criteria for health and social care (DTAC), the new national criteria designed to provide suppliers and healthcare organizations a clear direction on building and buying good digital health technologies. DTAC will apply to all types of digital health technologies, from public-facing health apps to digital systems used within hospitals. The assessment criteria are focused on five areas: digital technologies will receive a pass or fail in four categories - clinical safety, data protection, technical security and interoperability, and a score on usability and accessibility.

On February 24, 2021, NHS England published an update of the Specialized Services Policy Pipeline (covering period November 10, 2020 - February 10, 2021). Two new Clinical Commissioning Policies were added to the work program, and seven new policies were published, including stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery and proton therapy. The status of ongoing policies was updated as well.

In February 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new medical technologies guidance (Leukomed Sorbact for preventing surgical site infection) and seven new Medtech innovation briefings (PROPEL sinus implants, URO17 for detecting bladder cancer, Faecal microbiota transplant, DOAC Dipstick for detecting oral anticoagulants, CytoSorb for reducing the risk of bleeding during cardiac surgery, and others).

Healthcare Improvement Scotland develops HTAs and clinical guidelines to support decision-making. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Healthcare Improvement Scotland published assessments of continuous glucose monitoring in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, endobronchial valves for lung volume reduction in patients with severe emphysema, and other topics.

In February 2021, NICE announced the launch of a new 5-year strategic plan that will be presented at the virtual event on April 19, 2021. Registration is free but mandatory to attend the event.

NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI) approved the merging of 38 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to create nine new CCGs that will take effect from April 2021. After these changes take place, the total number of CCGs will be 106.

In February 2021, NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) published an "Our year in focus 2019/20" report. In 2019/20, AAC programs supported over 2,500 innovations. The report provides information regarding AAC achievements in their priority areas and identifies future development of innovation funding programs.

In February 2021, Healthcare Improvement Scotland released a review of recently published evidence to inform the National Planning Robotic Review Group on the impact of the number of robotic-assisted procedures (gynecological, colorectal, urological) per treatment center/surgeon on the outcomes achieved and any related evidence on the learning curves for these procedures.

In January 2021, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England, has published Bulletins 0174 and 0071 with changes to be implemented not later than May 01, 2021. Five new procedure codes related to the areas of men's health, robotic surgery, endoscopy, and orthopedics, as well as three new diagnostic codes, were introduced.

On January 26, 2021, NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative published the MedTech Funding Mandate policy for 2021/22, which will come into force in April 2021. According to the NHS Long Term Plan, introducing a MedTech Funding Mandate will support getting innovative medical devices, diagnostics, and digital products to patients faster. Four technologies will be supported in 2021/22 - HeartFlow FFRCT, gammaCore, SecurAcath, and PIGF-based testing.

In January 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new interventional procedure guidance (self-expanding implant insertion into the intersphincteric space for faecal incontinence and minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for early stage cervical cancer), two new medical technologies guidance (the PLASMA system for transurethral resection and haemostasis of the prostate, and the VAC Veraflo Therapy system for acute infected or chronic wounds), and six Medtech innovation briefings (Optilume for anterior urethral strictures, AI in mammography, AI for analyzing chest CT images, AcQMap for mapping the heart atria to target ablation treatment, and others). Also, two clinical guidelines were updated.