Cardiovascular devices

On October 27, 2022, the BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) published the final version of the 2023 OPS procedure coding classification. The OPS, together with the ICD-10-GM (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, German Modification), forms the basis for the reimbursement systems in outpatient and inpatient care in Germany.

On October 28, 2022, several Resolutions of the General Directorate of the Common Package of Benefits of the National Health and Pharmacy System were published concerning the use of the system for percutaneous repair of the mitral valve with clip, prioritization of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus for the provision of glucose monitoring systems, and the use of glucose monitoring system with sensors (flash type) for type 1 diabetes mellitus in childhood and adolescence.

The French National Authority for Health released new recommendations about add-on reimbursement of medical devices and medical aids from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies in October 2022. Fourteen recommendations were published in relation to the registration, modification of registration conditions, and renewal of registration for devices in the List of reimbursable products and services. Opinions concern cardiovascular, neurovascular, orthopedic, and ENT devices, as well as medical aids.

In September 2022, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) published four new opinions, which were based on health technology assessment reports. They are related to neuromodulation and cardiovascular areas. The main goal of these HTAs was to support decision-making for the creation of new procedure codes in the Common Classification of Medical Procedures (CCAM) and to update the indications for implantable cardiac defibrillators with endocavitary lead(s) in the Intra-DRG list.

On September 22, 2022, the Austrian version of the DRG system (LKF) 2023 model with the relevant supplementary documents was published in Austria. The document "Changes and innovations in the 2023 LKF model" summarizes the most significant changes and innovations in the LKF model for inpatient and outpatient care. The newly added procedure codes mainly concern cardiovascular, extracorporeal treatments, and peripheral vascular fields.

The French National Authority for Health released new recommendations about add-on reimbursement of medical devices and medical aids from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies in September 2022. Thirty-eight recommendations were published in relation to the registration, modification of registration conditions, and renewal of registration for devices in the List of reimbursable products and services. Opinions concern cardiovascular and peripheral vascular, neurovascular and neuromodulation, orthopedic, endocrine, ENT, dermatological, and spine-related devices, as well as digital care and medical aids.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new recommendations about transitional coverage of medical devices from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS) in August 2022. One opinion was published regarding the cardiac resynchronization system WISE CRT-SYSTEM by EBR System.

In August 2022, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 0185 and 0082 with changes to be implemented no later than October 11, 2022. Seven new procedure codes (for photodynamic therapy to skin lesions, patch continuous ECG recording, shoulder stabilization procedure, and ear reconstruction) and no new diagnostic codes.

On July 29, 2022, the Swiss Federal Statistics Office (UFS) published the 2023 version of the procedure code (CHOP) nomenclature in the German language. The newly introduced codes concern various technology groups, such as cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, in-vitro diagnostics, neurology and neurosurgery, interventional radiology, orthopedics, gynecology, and others.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new recommendations about transitional coverage of medical devices and medical aids from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS) in July 2022. Four opinions were published, and they concern devices in three technology groups.

On July 15, 2022, the Austrian Institute for HTA (AIHTA) published five decision support documents, which provide recommendations regarding the inclusion of new medical interventions in the catalog of individual medical services of the performance-oriented hospital financing (Leistungsorientierten Krankenanstaltenfinanzierung, LKF) model, as well as four updates to previous decision support documents. The decisions relate mainly to cardiovascular and gastrointestinal technology groups.

The Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) is a national health technology assessment (HTA) agency providing advice to NHSScotland on using new and existing health technologies, likely to significantly impact healthcare. In July 2022, SHTG published three reports (KardiaMobile for detecting atrial fibrillation, complex endovascular aneurysm repair, and Togetherall platform). Currently, the SHTG is working on assessments of technologies in the field of cancer, radiotherapy, musculoskeletal diseases, transplantation, and other topics.