In the first half of November, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new interventional procedures guidance (for total distal radioulnar joint replacement in symptomatic joint instability or arthritis and extracranial to intracranial bypass in intracranial atherosclerosis), one new diagnostics guidance for tests to identify people at high risk of ovarian cancer and four new Medtech innovation briefings.

The Austrian HTA body LBI-HTA performed a systematic review of health economic evaluations of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) compared to medical treatment and surgical aortic valve replacement for inoperable and operable patients with high or moderate surgical risk. The result of the review have only limited transferability to Austria, and LBI-HTA concluded, that the currently applied selection of patients based on clinical parameters can be considered as good practice.

The Nomenclature is used to code all health care interventions in public sector. It is a foundation for payment using Russian diagnosis-related groups. Nomenclature will come into force 1st of January 2018.

Annual report from the Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology (GISE) shows increasing trends in procedural volume of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), transcatheter aortic valve implantations (TAVI), mitral clip implantations, closure of left atrial appendage (LAA) and patent foramen ovale (PFO).

After successful trial application by a manufacturer (St. Jude Medical, now part of Abbott), the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) decided to conduct a co-funded study to create evidence about the measurement and monitoring of pulmonary artery pressure using an implanted sensor called “CardioMEMS™ HF System” to optimize therapy in NYHA III heart failure. The G-BA released a trial guideline defining the key points of the planned study, including type and duration of the study, target population and control intervention.

The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development Group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. New codes were added for trans-oral robotic surgery and joint replacement surgery.

A manufacturer (PQ Bypass) requested a consultation by the Joint Federal Committee (G-BA) about the eligibility of their medical device for an early benefit assessment according to §137h of the Social Code Book V (SGB V). The technology (PQ Bypass Stent Graft System) is a fully-percutaneous femoral-popliteal bypass procedure for peripheral arterial disease. The G-BA argued that the method is not based on the use of a high-risk medical device and therefore does not have to undergo a §137h assessment.

Patients should not pay anything other than regulated out-of-pocket payments when they visit general practitioner or other healthcare professional, who have contract with public health authorities.

The Clinical Coding and Schedule Development Group develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England. New codes were added for nitrogen washout test for lung capacity and fractional flow reserve CT measurement.

The Basque Office for Health Technology Assessment (OSTEBA) published results of assessments of different techniques for biopsy of prostate. In accordance to this report, biopsy with image fusion (MRI and ultrasound) can be considered as a first diagnostic option for prostate biopsy.

An international advisor group of 14 medical and health economic experts proposed 38 measures of how control the increase of healthcare costs in Switzerland. One third of the actions including the strengthening of HTA are already considered. The Swiss Federal Council now wants to develop concrete plans for the implementation of the new measures suggested in the report by the expert group, including global budgets for the outpatient sector, the introduction of medical boards, the encouragement of parallel imports of medical technology and implants and annual review of prices.

The article "Alfapump® system vs. large volume paracentesis for refractory ascites: A multicenter randomized controlled study" published in the Journal of Hepatology provides valuable insights into efficacy, safety and cost outcomes of the innovative method for managing refractory ascites.