On 20th of July, 2018, the Austrian HTA body, the Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute (LBI) has published an HTA report on efficacy and safety of endobronchial valve implantation for emphysema. The authors have concluded that the intervention is more effective but less safe than standard therapy in selected patients with severe emphysema. Inclusion in the national service catalogue is only recommended with restrictions.

Emilia Romagna Region published a preliminary information report on the LumiHeal™ KLOX system, a topical photo-converter system for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds.

In 2019 the regulation for “conditional reimbursement to the basic insurance” (Voorwaardelijke toelating tot het basispakket) will be replaced by the Subsidy Scheme for Promising Care. The goal is to make promising treatments, medical technologies, tools and medicines available for patients even faster. The Dutch Healthcare Institute is preparing for the implementation of the new subsidy scheme in the coming months.

On July 27th, 2018, the European network for HTA has published a rapid assessment of the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM real-time) and flash glucose monitoring (FGM) as personal, standalone systems in patients with diabetes mellitus treated with insulin.

On 20th of July, 2018, the Austrian HTA body, the Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute (LBI) has published an update of the HTA of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of prostate cancer. The report did not find the evidence of benefits of the treatment vs comparative treatments. The inclusion of the method hospital benefit catalogue was currently not recommended.

In July of 2018, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has initiated the discussion regarding the establishment of the minimum quantity requirements for the surgical treatment of breast cancer and bronchial carcinoma. As the quality of surgery is directly dependent on the quantity, the number of operations performed at hospital and on the designated surgeon, the objective is to understand the importance of the experience and routine practice of the operations to reach the successful treatment outcomes and to determine a minimum number of operations, which should be performed in hospitals to gain enough experience.

In July of 2018, the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (Tandvårds-Läkemedelförmånsverket, TLV) has updated the product group codes for consumables for better understanding the range of the products. Editorial changes to the codes' descriptions were implemented. Seven new groups for stomach products, plates and bags of different types, which are especially intended for children have been included in the classification.

Clarifications about coding of CytoSorb procedure and use of Flow Diverter in Switzerland were released by SwissDRG.

At the end of June of 2018, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has commissioned to the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) to provide an update of the Disease Management Program (DMP) for Diabetes Mellitus type 2 in order to perform a systematic research, make a selection of guidelines based on methodological criteria and extract guideline recommendations relevant for the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus type 2. The final report is expected to be released on the 31st of December, 2019.

The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development Group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. In July new codes for aminoglycoside induced deafness testing, Intra-Operative PTH profile, cytokine panels and lymphocyte immunophenotyping, streptococcus pneumoniae by PCR, OCT for cardiology, contract-enhanced ultrasound and faecal immunochemistry test were added to the CCSD Schedule.

MTRC performs the analysis using administrative databases. Reporting of procedure volume is done according to the established procedural classifications (e.g., OPCS in England, OPS in Germany). Data are available for Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. In other countries, it might be possible to obtain data from patient registries or clinical societies.

The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development Group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. In July new codes for percutaneous paravalvular leak closure, endoscopic vacuum therapy for colorectal anastomotic leakage and phonomicrosurgery for vocal cord lesions, nodules, polyps, or cysts were added to the CCSD Schedule.