NICE recently introduced a new centralized approach to prioritizing topics for its guidance and a decision-making body - a prioritization board. In July 2024, the decisions of the prioritization board were first published by NICE. Sixteen topics were prioritized, twenty were not prioritized, and one was withdrawn.

In early July 2024, Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) awarded seventeen projects under the Efficiency Research program, including four projects on e-health, two projects on diagnostic imaging techniques, two projects in orthopedics, one project on abdominal surgery, one project in gynecology, and one project in the cardiovascular area.

On August 8, 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 197 and 093 with changes to be implemented no later than October 4, 2024. Thirteen new procedure codes related to cardiovascular, endoscopy, gastrointestinal, interventional radiology, neurology, gynecology, orthopedics, spine, and robotic surgery areas, and four new diagnostic codes were introduced.

On August 3, 2024, the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Solidarity published an Order in the Official Journal of the French Republic modifying the national neonatal screening program using laboratory examinations. Starting November 1, 2024, all newborns will be screened for sickle cell disease. Other modifications include organizational changes and modifications related to the timing of blood sample collection.

In August 2024, the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI/RIZIV) announced the national implementation of the first Integrated Care Program as part of the Intrafederal Plan: care and support for pregnant women, children, and their families during their first 1000 days. Four new INAMI-RIZIV pseudo-nomenclature codes with fees were introduced to cover the key activities within the program.

In July 2024, NHS England issued an updated version of the 2024/25 National Genomic Test Directory, which lists genomic tests commissioned by NHS England via Genomic Laboratory Hubs. A total of 58 new codes (test-indication combinations) were introduced in the Test Directory for cancer, and ten new codes in the Test Directory for rare and inherited diseases.

Our goal at MTRC is to inform the decision-making of our clients and to support their market access activities. Below is a snapshot of our planned activities for the next two weeks. This can help our existing and prospective clients to better understand the potential scope of our support. From the week of the 26th of August, we are planning to work on 19 projects. Review the full list of planned activities in this post.

On July 10, 2024, the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) announced the submission of grant applications for research on patient-relevant outcomes and alternative forms of financing for innovative treatment under the Medical Specialist Care and Research (MedZO) program. The submission of grant applications will continue until October 15, 2024.

In July 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released five MedTech-related assessments in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned cloud-based device (CaRi-Heart) for predicting cardiac risk, remote continuous monitoring of Parkinson's disease, home-monitoring for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, treatment of pilonidal sinus disease, and cystatin C in glomerular filtration rate-estimating. HTA Journal publishes research reports on the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage, and provide care in the NHS and informs National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.

On August 6, 2024, the Danish Health Data Authority opened the application period for changes in the 2026 DRG logic, including the creation of new DRG codes and changes in the grouping logic for existing DRGs. The deadline for the submission of the applications is November 8, 2024.

In August 2024, Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) awarded four projects under the 2023 Round of the Care Evaluation and Appropriate Use program, including one project in orthopedics, one project on cardiovascular care, one project in cancer management and one project on urinary tract infection.

In July 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) released a report on proposed approaches to the economic evaluation of multi-indication health technologies (MIHTs) developed by the HTA Lab. Examples of MIHTs include circulating tumor DNA tests, polygenic risk scores, and virtual ward platform technologies, which can be used across multiple disease areas or multiple indications. This report proposes approaches that NICE could adopt for future economic evaluations of MIHTs and provides recommendations for implementing the approaches on pilot topics.