Earlier in September 2020, the Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment (AIHTA) released a synopsis of the ongoing research project “Reimbursement decisions for medical procedures in Austria: An analysis of factors – besides clinical evidence – influencing reimbursement decisions for the hospital benefit catalog 2010-2020.”

On September 03, 2020, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) opened HTA researcher-led proposal submissions. The proposals can be related to any health problem and should be within the scope of the HTA Program. The closing date is January 6, 2021.

In July 2020, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) issued an update of the methodological guide for the economic evaluation of medical technologies. The main changes aimed to improve the interpretation of the results and the uncertainty, to clarify technical points, and to integrate methodological changes that have occurred since 2011.

On September 7, 2020, the Swiss Medical Board has announced that the organization will discontinue its operations at the end of 2021.

In September 2020, a completed mini-method assessment for the MitraClip for percutaneous mitral valve repair was issued within the New Methods framework. The Oslo University Hospital carried out the evaluation. The method was recommended for routine use in hospitals.

On September 03, 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued medical technologies guidance on Axonics sacral neuromodulation (SNM) system for treating refractory overactive bladder. NICE recommended Axonics SNM to be adopted in the NHS and considered as an alternative when another treatment is not effective.

On August 18, 2020, Swedish Medical Technology Product (MTP) Council issued an updated recommendation on FreeStyle Libre for continuous glucose monitoring in diabetes, which now includes FreeStyle Libre 2. The previous recommendation was published by New Therapy (NT) Council in 2018.

The first issue of HTA Alerts included 186 reports from European organizations only. This issue included reports, published or initiated from the 1st of August 2020, and ongoing reports. The most common technological fields were cardiovascular, gastroenterology, in-vitro diagnostics, men's health, neuromodulation, and orthopedics. Contact us if you want to receive a sample alert and to learn more about the service.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new decisions about intra-DRG reimbursement of medical devices from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS) in July 2020. Decisions concern cardiac sutureless valve bioprostheses and implantable devices for the treatment of urinary incontinence.

From October 1, 2020, balneophototherapy can also be used for patients with moderate to severe neurodermatitis and billed via the EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard). So far, dermatologists have only been able to use the method for patients with psoriasis.

At the end of July 2020, the network of European HTA agencies, EUnetHTA, announced the final plan of the project OTCA27 “Comparative effectiveness of surgical techniques and devices for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).”

The NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) has launched its call for applications representing high impact, evidence-based innovations from September 01, 2020. The application deadline is October 16, 2020. NIA is an award-winning national initiative supported by England’s 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), which helps dedicated innovations to spread more comprehensively in the healthcare system.