On January 1, 2025, the revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for the first quarter of 2025 came into force. The main changes introduced concern updates of the contents (services legends, preambles of several EBM subchapters), the introduction of new EBM codes related to dialysis services, CT coronary angiography, management of long COVID patients, different types of consultations and visits, and material costs flat rates related to shipping services.

On January 1, 2025, an amended Executive Order on Medical Devices entered into force, which makes it possible to send single-use medical devices for reprocessing and further reuse. At the same time, it ensures that the reprocessed devices are safe and effective to use on an equal footing with the original CE-marked devices.

MTRC developed an analytical White Paper featuring the challenges of Health Economic Evaluations of Medical Devices.

On December 19, 2024, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN) published the updated list of medical procedures reimbursed under basic health insurance with restrictions or limitations. The procedures have the so-called "claim" codes (aanspraakcodes). The Dutch Healthcare Authority assigns the "claim" codes based on positions published by the ZIN. The changes included the introduction of one new procedure code.

On December 19, 2024, the Hybrid DRG reimbursement agreement for 2025 was published. It determines which interventions will be reimbursed via a hybrid DRG mechanism and the associated tariffs. The newly introduced DRGs mainly belong to the endoscopy, gastrointestinal, and men’s health fields.

On December 24, 2024, the decision of the National Union of Health Insurance Funds (UNCAM) regarding the update of the CCAM Classification of procedure codes was published in the Official Journal of the French Republic. Changes include registration of three new procedure codes, modification of billing notes for certain procedures, and amendment of modifiers. The updates are expected to come into force on February 1, 2025.

Since January 1, 2025, the Danish Healthcare Quality Institute has been established, replacing the Health Technology Council and the Regions' Clinical Quality Development Program. The Institute comprises three overall focus areas that contribute to patients receiving high and uniform quality treatment across the country and the best possible health for the money.

In December 2024, the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI-RIZIV) announced changes in the cervical cancer screening program starting from January 1, 2025. The key change is that in people aged 30 to 64 years, an HPV (Human Papillomavirus) test will be the primary for cervical cancer screening instead of a cytological examination. For this age group, HPV tests will be reimbursed every five years.

MTRC shares the most relevant and impactful publications in the field of sustainability for medical technologies in Europe through its Sustainability Publications Digest. In the recent publication, “Environmental impact of current endoscopic technology in urological procedures: a systematic review on reusable vs. disposable scopes,” Peyrottes et al. presented a systematic review to evaluate and synthesize the existing literature on environmental aspects related to urological endoscopy procedures.

MTRC shares the most relevant and impactful publications in the field of sustainability for medical technologies in Europe through its Sustainability Publications Digest. In the recent publication, “Carbon footprinting and sustainability impact assessment in urological surgical practice - A systematic review,” Wani et al. presented a systematic review to determine the carbon footprint (CFP) of urological surgical practice and identify opportunities for improving the environmental impact of urology surgical practice. Five articles were included in the review. Studies concerned the use of reusable cystoscopes, ureteroscopes and robotics-assisted surgery.

MTRC shares the most relevant and impactful publications in the field of sustainability for medical technologies in Europe through its Sustainability Publications Digest. In the recent publication, “The environmental impact of energy consumption and carbon emissions in radiology departments: a systematic review,” Roletto et al. presented a systematic review to identify all strategies to reduce energy use and carbon emissions in radiology. In total, 16 articles were included. Main topics were energy consumption (10/16, 62.5%), life-cycle assessment (4/16, 25.0%), and carbon footprint (2/16, 12.5%).

On December 12, 2024, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 199 and 095 with changes to be implemented no later than February 10, 2025. Five new procedure codes related to diagnostic imaging, robotic surgery, and peripheral vascular, as well as one new diagnostic code, were introduced.