Cancer

On July 2, 2024, the revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for the third quarter of 2024 was published. The changes introduced mainly concern updating the content of several EBM sections with the respective comments and/or clarifications and introducing the new EBM codes for several companion diagnostics tests, for follow-up and evaluation of the “Kranus Lutera” health app, and for the services provided within the co-funded study on bronchoscopic lung volume reduction in severe pulmonary emphysema using thermal ablation (rp-RL BTVA).

On July 1, 2024, the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI/RIZIV) introduced a new agreement (Convention), which allows permanent reimbursement for molecular biology tests by next-generation sequencing (NGS) in oncology and hemato-oncology. The tests were reimbursed temporarily in the context of the pilot Convention from 2019. Fifty-one new pseudo-nomenclature codes with tariffs were introduced. The pseudocode descriptions specify the indication, while certain biomarkers and reimbursement conditions are mentioned as notes to the code.

On April 3, 2024, NHS England published the 2024/25 Prescribed Specialised Services (PSS) Operational Tool. This Tool is used as a mechanism to identify whether healthcare activity belongs to specialized services using so-called identification rules. Forty-three new service lines were introduced in multiple areas, and eight service lines were amended.

On January 26, 2024, NHS England announced the third round of the Innovation Open Call, funded by the NHS Cancer Programme. All types of late-stage innovations aimed at early detection and diagnosis of cancer are eligible, including medical devices, in-vitro diagnostics, digital health solutions, and AI. Awarded projects will be 100% funded up to the total value of £4 million to produce and evaluate evidence in a real-world setting, supporting adoption and spread by providers, commissioners, and regulators. The application submission will be open on April 8, 2024.

On January 30, 2024, the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) published the list of the requests for innovation funding (NUB) that were submitted by the hospitals in 2023. The medical technologies of cardiovascular, ENT, extracorporeal, gastrointestinal, neuromodulation, and other technology groups obtained positive status 1.

In January 2024, the Ministry of Health and Prevention published the Order in the Official Journal of the French Republic updating the cancer screening programs. The new Order replaces the previous one from September 2006 and specifies the implementation conditions for the organized screening programs for breast, colorectal, and cervical cancers.

On December 21, 2023, the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) issued a draft release of the DRG package for 2025, including new procedure codes, new diagnosis codes, and several new DRGs. These changes concern gynecology, cardiology, gene therapy and other technology groups.

In December 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released two MedTech-related assessments in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned ablative and non-surgical therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma and hidradenitis suppurativa treatment. 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 December 15, 2023, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) published the decisions recommending the transfer to standard care for another three completed projects. Two projects evaluated the decision support tools for the BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. The third project analyzed the healthcare provided for patients with congenital heart defects.

In November 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released one MedTech-related assessment in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned posterior hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy for early breast cancer treatment. 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.

The Danish government granted the Danish Regions an additional 300 million DKK to strengthen cancer care in 2024. From 2025, the government confirmed permanent annual funding of 600 million DKK for “Cancer Plan V”, expected to be published by Autumn 2024.

On October 10, 2023, NHS England published an updated work plan for specialized clinical commissioning policies development (as of October 2, 2023). Two MedTech-related policies were added to the program: Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery for essential tremor in adults; Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy for the treatment of primary kidney cancer. The status of ongoing policies was updated.