The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. In October/November 2018, five new procedure codes for laser correction of refractive error following non-refractive ophthalmic surgery, insertion of urethral catheterization device, injection of botulinum toxin for hyperhidrosis, laparoscopic and robotic-assisted pancreatoduodenectomy have been added to the CCSD Schedule.

On December 27, 2018, the Belgian Official Gazette was updated. The update brought changes in chapter VIII of the Nomenclature, regarding the changing of the coding for flow reserve measurement.

In December 2018, the Andalusian Agency for Evaluation of Health Technologies, AETSA, has released a report on the effectiveness and safety of electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves for treating chronic refractory pain.

Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) has released key features of the DRG package for 2020, including complex chronic lung failure, stem cell transplant care and indexation of DRG tariffs.

In November of 2018, the completed mini-method assessment for decompression due to entrapment neuralgia for patients with chronic pain in the neck, shoulders, and head was released. The method was determined as poorly documented and was not recommended to be introduced as a part of the routine clinical practice.

In mid-June, 2018, the Catalan Agency for Quality and Healthcare Evaluation, AQuAS, published the Clinical Practice Guidelines for open-angle glaucoma.

Curafutura, an association of health insurance companies in Switzerland, started the initiative to change the current outpatient pricing structure (TARMED) in 2016. In late 2018, they let the public know that the new tariff structure for ambulatory medical benefits is almost ready to be submitted to the Federal Council.

Two mini-method assessments regarding intraepidermal nerve fiber density in skin biopsy and neurovascular structure-adjacent frozen-section (NeuroSAFE) during robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) were initiated by Oslo University Hospital in December of 2018. All finalized mini-method assessments are published in the National Database for Mini-HTA.

In late December 2018, the European HTA agency, EUnetHTA, announced the final report of the project OTCA06 - “Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in patients at intermediate surgical risk.”

Report presents summary of the reimbursement situation in Europe for peripheral intravascular ultrasound. Analysis covers iliac, femoral and popliteal arteries. Analysis is provided for admitted and day case hospital care. The analysis covers procedure coding, payment mechanism, reimbursement tariffs and policy restrictions in 11 EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

The report presents a summary of reimbursement situation for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in ambulatory settings. Both MRI with and without contrast are considered. All procedure codes will be provided in the analysis. When fee for service payment model is used, all fees for available reimbursement codes will be provided. The analysis covers procedure coding, payment mechanism, reimbursement tariffs and policy restrictions in 11 EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

The report presents a summary of reimbursement situation for cardiac resynchronization therapy. Report includes both Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Pacemaker (CRT-P) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillator (CRT-D) are considered. The analysis covers procedure coding, payment mechanism, reimbursement tariffs and policy restrictions in 11 EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.