News and blog posts
17
Jul 2020
The French High Authority for Health (HAS) develops national diagnostic and care protocols whose objective is to guarantee the quality and safety of care delivery within the French setting. In the first half of 2020, national diagnostic and care protocols have been developed for eighteen topics.
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16
Jul 2020
The Corona warning app, developed on behalf of the German government, has been available for download in the Google and Apple stores since June 16, 2020. It is intended to help identify and break infection chains at an early stage. Users of the app receive a notification if they have been for a long time in the vicinity of a person who was later found to be infected with the coronavirus.
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15
Jul 2020
On June 18, 2020, the network of European HTA agencies, EUnetHTA, published the final report for the rapid assessment OTCA21 "Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation (HGNS) for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea."
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14
Jul 2020
In June 2020, the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS) published an assessment report on the effectiveness and safety of bilateral implantation of non-cochlear hearing implants in Spain.
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13
Jul 2020
New material codes and related conditions of reimbursement for an isolated iliac bifurcation endoprosthesis were added to the List of reimbursable devices of the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI-RIZIV) in June 2020.
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10
Jul 2020
On 22nd June 2020, the company in charge of the development of the DRG system in Switzerland, SwissDRG SA, has announced the catalog version of SwissDRG 10.0/2021 (2018/2021). Seven days later, the planning version of SwissDRG (2019/2021) has been published as well.
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09
Jul 2020
On 05 June 2020, mHealthBelgium announced the activation of Level 2 of the validation pyramid. This indicates that health applications that meet certain criteria can achieve Level 2. The National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI) is working on the next step (level 3) - to introduce a structural framework for funding.
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08
Jul 2020
On June 18, 2020, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (Zorginstituut Nederland, ZIN) announced four medical procedures which received a subsidy under the new innovative payment scheme: FFRct technique in the diagnosis of patients with chest pain; oral esketamine in patients with severe, non-psychotic, treatment-resistant depression; left atrial appendage closure in patients with atrial fibrillation and endolymphatic duct blockage in patients with uncontrollable Meniere's disease.
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07
Jul 2020
In June 2020, NHS England announced that it is accelerating the use of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) requiring fewer doses than standard radiotherapy, decreasing the number of hospital visits that potentially vulnerable patients need to undergo. It will now be available through the NHS by the end of the current financial year, rather than full rollout by 2022.
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06
Jul 2020
The French High Authority for Health (HAS) regularly publishes new decisions about add-on reimbursement for medical devices. The decisions made in June 2020 concern various types of devices, including total lumbar disc prostheses, arthroscopic meniscal repair system, vagus nerve stimulation system, and medical aids. A total of 10 decisions were made.
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03
Jul 2020
The Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII) in Spain analyzed the effectiveness and safety of the endovenous ablation of varicose saphenous veins with cyanoacrylate closure system in patients with moderate to severe chronic venous insufficiency compared to surgical procedures, as of saphenous vein stripping, and other endovenous ablation techniques. In the report, published on the website in 2020, it was outlined that despite the limitations found in selected studies, intravenous sealing with cyanoacrylates seems to be a promising alternative to existing treatments, especially in terms of less use of anesthesia and compression bandage, as well as shorter recovery time.
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02
Jul 2020
In June 2020, two new apps entered the level 1 of the mHealthBelgium validation pyramid. Guardian Connect smartphone application is a component of the Guardian Connect Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system for diabetes management. The icompanion software is a decision-making tool that helps physicians to choose medication for patients with multiple sclerosis.
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