Article “Cost-effectiveness analysis of bariatric surgery for morbid obesity in Belgium” published in the “Journal of Medical Economics” provides insights about economic outcomes of bariatric surgery in Belgium using Markov modeling. Over the 10-year horizon, bariatric surgery led to a cost increment of €3,788 and 1.4 additional QALY (€2,809/QALY) compared with optimal medical management. Over lifetime horizon, surgery led to 1.1 life years and 5.0 QALY gains and €9,332/patient average cost savings.

Since January 1, 2018, responsibility for managing the product regulations for medical devices is transferred from the Norwegian Directorate of Health to the Norwegian Medicines Agency.

The program will cover the period of 2018-2025 and will focus on improvement of provision of health care services, introduction of innovations and other aspects of health care system. Overall budget of the program is 4.7 bln. euros. The program can create a window of opportunity for financing of innovative equipment and devices in Russia.

A 104-page reimbursement report covers percutaneous, thoracoscopic and open in adjunction to heart surgery ablations in hospital settings. Radiofrequency, cryo and microwave ablation sources were 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.

The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development Group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. In November new codes for reconstruction of breast, open adnexectomy, transoral laser microsurgery and surgical correction of hallux valgus were added to the CCSD Schedule.

The Department of Home Affairs (EDI) in Switzerland decided upon the coverage with evidence development (CED) of two types of positron emission tomography as well as stereotactic radiotherapy (photons) of exudative age-related macular degeneration. The status is given to contested medical services for a specific period which is extended until evidence is complete.

The new Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) system, called “LKF system” in Austria came into effect on January 1st 2018. It is used for the reimbursement, documentation and cost data collection of inpatient and day case services in Austrian hospitals. Compared to the last version, the LKF system for 2018 includes two newly established procedure groups (Oncological Immunotherapy and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) as well as several new procedures and changes in the association of procedures to specific groups. See details in the MTRC report.

The generic quality framework and three modules of care describe the general requirements for medical devices for home-based application, included in the Health Insurance Act (Zvw). This framework is not intended for medical devices that fall under the Social Support Act (Wmo) and medical aids provided in intramural settings.

The National Board of Health has not updated recommendations for cervical cancer screening since 2012. New evidence has been obtained for the detection of HPV infection as a screening method instead of or as a supplement to microscopic examination of cervical cells, and several countries plan to rearrange their screening programs.

The current guideline replaces the previous version of the document of 2010. The Norwegian Directorate of Health decided to update the guideline because new methods of treatment and rehabilitation of stroke became avaliable in recent years.

A 150-page reimbursement report covers angiography, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), fractional flow reserve (FFR), cardiac computer tomography (CCT), optical coherence tomography (OCT) for angina and myocardial infarction in hospital settings. Stand-alone application of imaging / diagnostic methods and use in conjunction with percutaneous coronary intervention procedure was 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.

The Basque Office for Health Technology Assessment (OSTEBA) published results of assessments of home telemonitoring on patients with heart failure. This intervention was considered as effective and cost-effectiveness technology. However, further research is needed to specify criteria for better application.