Laboratory examinations that can predict whether a patient will receive therapeutic benefits from “personalized” drug treatment or from so-called "molecular companions diagnostics" can be promptly and flexibly reimbursed using the new specific procedure from July 1, 2019.

In July 2019, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new diagnostics guidance for therapeutic monitoring of TNF-alpha inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis, two new interventional procedure guidance (for transurethral laser ablation for recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer and ultrasound-guided high-intensity transcutaneous focused ultrasound for symptomatic uterine fibroids), and one new MedTech innovation briefing for HemaClear for bloodless surgical field during limb surgery.

On July 31, 2019, the Swiss Federal Statistics Office (UFS) has published the list of CHOP procedure codes, version 2020, which are used for procedure coding and in the DRG system for reimbursement of hospistal services.

Technical overviews include details of application processes for procedure codes and payments (e.g. DRG), inclusion into health benefit catalogs. Overviews are available as presentations in Acrobat PDF.

Educational modules include an overview of key stakeholders, money flow, payment model for IVD tests in the ambulatory sector, the process of creation of reimbursement for novel IVD tests. Overviews are available for France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland. Overviews are available as presentations in Acrobat PDF.

The overview includes key stakeholders, money flow, the structure of the NHS Scotland, payment model in the system, the role of the Scottish National Tariff, Specialised Clinical Services, commissioning of services outside Scotland (in England and EU), the role of health technology assessment.

In late July 2019, the report of the project OTJA10, titled “Stool DNA testing for early detection of colorectal cancer” was published on the website of the European Network for HTA (EUnetHTA).

The draft for a “Digital Supply Law,” approved by the Cabinet on July 10, 2019, promotes digitization in the health sector. Among other things, the law should help to accelerate the integration of digital applications into the standard care, to further develop and promote the use of the electronic patient record (ePA), to strengthen telemedicine and to connect more actors to the telematics infrastructure.

In July 2019, the Health Technology Evaluation Service of the Basque County, OSTEBA, published a report titled “Indications, utility, and use of ultrasound in primary care.”

The HTA center of Swedish Västra Götaland region has published a report for the effectiveness of laminar versus turbulent airflow in operating theaters, with regard to risk for postoperative surgical infections. It was concluded that vertical laminar airflow, compared with any other type of ventilation system in operating rooms, is probably associated with a further reduction of CFU concentration in air sampled near the operation table.

New material codes for hearing aids were added to the List of reimbursable devices of the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI-RIZIV) in August 2019.

In July 2019, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has released a report for the effectiveness of treatment for knee osteoarthritis to summarize key findings from systematic reviews about relevant treatment options to ease the symptoms in patients with arthritis in the knee. It was outlined that self-management education program and physical aids give little or no difference in pain, whereas noncompartmental knee arthroplasty is superior to total knee arthroplasty in pain.