The Italian association of medical technology manufacturers, CONFINDUSTRIA dispositivi medici, published the results of a study in which they studied the average time the supplier of medical devices has to wait to get an invoice paid by the Italian hospitals. The differences vary between 35 days and 504 days.

On February 1, 2020, an additional test was added to the newborn screening, performed 2-3 days after birth. Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is thus the 18th disease for which newborns are screened in Denmark.

At the end of January 2020, the entity managing the DRG system in Switzerland, SwissDRG, has published the data collection forms for SwissDRG 2020 (2019 data). Furthermore, an explanation about the coding of “Aortic stent graft (stent prosthesis)” has been released.

In January 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published only three new interventional procedure guidance (for reducing the risk of transmission of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) from surgical instruments used for interventional procedures on high-risk tissues, fetoscopic and open prenatal repair for open neural tube defects in the fetus).

On January 30, 2020, the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) has published the List of the requests for innovation funding (NUB), submitted by the hospitals until October 31, 2019. Out of 778 technologies, 201 (26%) received the positive status 1, which means that the evaluated procedure or medical device meets the NUB criteria and allows the hospitals to negotiate with the sickness funds for the innovation funding for these technologies.

We have released the interview on the Market Access Insider channel on Youtube. The interview covered key stakeholders, procedure coding, functioning of the DRG system, reimbursement processes for medical technologies in Switzerland. Michel discussed the biggest mistakes made by the Med Tech companies on the market and advised on the best strategy on how to approach the market.

New material codes for a set of equipment for the quantification of collateral ventilation in isolated pulmonary compartments and unidirectional endobronchial valve with placement system were added to the List of reimbursable devices of the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI-RIZIV) in February 2020.

The Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has updated the nationwide requirements for disease management programs (DMP) for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. The current DMP contracts must then be adjusted to the new requirements within one year of the decision coming into force. Around 225,000 legally insured patients are currently enrolled in a DMP for type 1 diabetes.

In late January 2020, the network of European HTA agencies, EUnetHTA, announced the final plan of the project OTCA21 “Hypoglossal nerve stimulation systems for treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea.”

In January 2020, the Reimbursement Commission made changes to the Healthcare Implementation Communique in Turkey. The main changes relate to the addition of new laboratory test codes, procedure codes, new devices related to the ophthalmology, and price changing of materials related to interventional radiology.

The HTA unit of the Lombardy region opens the possibility for the public to comment on the health technologies which are in the assessment phase. The call is open until February 28, 2020.

On the week of the 27th of January, MTRC published several posts related to the NABM procedure codes for IVD tests in France, the frequency of update of procedural classifications in Europe, and the least active countries in relation to the Med Tech HTA in Europe. Follow us on Instagram on @mtrc.market.access