In-vitro diagnostic tests

On August 10, 2023, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 191 and 087 with changes to be implemented no later than October 6, 2023. Five new procedure codes (concerning urogynecology, robotic surgery, and neuromodulation) and six new codes for in-vitro diagnostics were introduced.

The Essential Levels of Care defines outpatient specialist care and prosthetic care guaranteed to the Italian population. Although the LEA document was brought in 2017, the national tariffs for outpatient specialist and prosthetic care were approved in April 2023. The tariffs for the 2017 LEA catalog (to be in use from January 2024) were updated with the Decree of the Ministry of Health published in the Official Gazette on 4 August 2023

In August 2023, the Basque Office for Health Technology Assessment (OSTEBA) is working on several HTAs, including the evaluations in the cardiovascular, diagnostic imaging, e-health, ENT, ICU/OR, nephrology and urology, IVD, neurovascular, obstetrics and gynecology, surgical procedures, and some other fields.

In early August 2023, the Polish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System (AOTMiT) announced the start of the evaluation of several technologies in men’s health, neuromodulation and in-vitro diagnostics fields.

In June 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published five new Interventional Procedure Guidance (intraoperative electron beam radiotherapy, minimally invasive fusionless posterior-approach surgery to correct idiopathic scoliosis, endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage, radiofrequency denervation for osteoarthritic knee pain, and Botulinum toxin type A injections into the urethral sphincter), two new Diagnostic Guidance (transperineal biopsy for prostate cancer, and FibroScan for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis), and two Medtech Innovation Briefings (MiraQ cardiac TTFM, Proov Confirm; their development started before April 2023). Also, four clinical guidelines were updated.

The revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog came into force on July 1, 2023. The most significant changes concern introducing the new EBM codes for several IVD tests, as well as for the cryopreservation of the ovarian tissue.

On June 19, 2023, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) published the changes that will occur to the Healthcare Benefit Ordinance (KLV/OPre) and its Annexes, which determines coverage of medical services in Switzerland. Key changes relate to introduction of two codes for genetic tests, several extensions of Coverage with Evidence Development, and updates in reimbursement conditions for transcatheter aortic valve implantation. The changes entered into force on July 1, 2023.

On June 15, 2023, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) informed that new services for the detection of the adeno-associated virus (AAV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) will be included in the German Uniform Evaluation Standard (EBM) catalog since July 1, 2023.

In June 2023, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 190 and 086 with changes to be implemented no later than August 4, 2023. Fourteen new procedure codes (concerning cardiovascular, diagnostic imaging, endocrine, endoscopy, gastrointestinal, orthopedic and spine, peripheral vascular, robotic surgery, men's health, and radiotherapy fields) and six new diagnostic codes were introduced.

On June 5, 2023, the updated version of the Laboratory test nomenclature was published by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) to come into force on July 1, 2023. A total of 138 new codes were introduced.

On June 1, 2023, NHS England issued an updated version of the National Genomic Test Directory, which lists genomic tests commissioned by NHS England via Genomic Laboratory Hubs. Three new codes (test-indication combinations) were introduced in the Test Directory for rare and inherited diseases.

In May 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released two MedTech-related reports in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which endoscopic radiofrequency ablation in malignant biliary obstruction and screening for ovarian cancer. 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.