Reimbursement

Innovative medtech products should receive reimbursement based on the value they add to the health care system, but just eight European countries offer funding pathways at present, analysis by MedTech Europe and Med Tech Reimbursement Consulting shows.

The UK government’s new procurement-and-beyond body housed in the DHSC says a medtech strategy could hit the presses before 2023. The medtech industry is cheered by promises of engagement.

Regulatory convergence and the sharing of dossiers, together with the timely and equitable sharing of pathogens, could help to speed up access to diagnostics, vaccines and medications in pandemic situations, according to the first draft of the World Health Organization’s proposed pandemic treaty.

The US FDA has cleared an AI-based diagnostic from Israeli firm AEYE Health that screens for diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness.

Medtech companies looking to gain reimbursement for digital products in the UK are hindered by a confusing funding system and unclear real-world evidence requirements, but improvements should be easy to implement, trade association ABHI says.

UK patient outcomes would improve under clearer, standardized market access or reimbursement pathways for advanced diagnostic tests, such as those used to screen for cancer, trade groups say.

Artificial intelligence is a major advancement in medtech due to its ability to rapidly adapt, improve and learn. However, value assessment models must also reform to keep up with this technology in the medtech space, an HTA expert told Medtech Insight.

Digitalization can offer many benefits to European health care systems, but how does this look from a payer’s perspective? A health insurance expert has made the case for bundled reimbursement models based on shared risk and investment.