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European Union of Private Hospitals

The European Commission publishes the paper “Proposed Guiding Principles for Reimbursement of Digital Health Products and Solutions”

On 30 April, the European Commission published the paper “Proposed Guiding Principles for Reimbursement of Digital Health Products and Solutions” as one of four working papers developed collaboratively by members of the eHealth Stakeholder Group (eHSG), the EC’s expert group on European digital health policy. 

UEHP is member of the eHealth Stakeholder Group (eHSG) and actively contributed to the drafting of this document together with other European stakeholders such as MedTech Europe (leader), COCIR, the European Society of Cardiology, the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU).

The paper outlines four recommendations that address the special nature of digital health technologies and their difficulty in entering funding and reimbursement pathways in Europe:
  • Specific criteria are needed to make appropriate reimbursement decisions for digital health products and solutions.
  • Relevant digital health products and solutions should benefit from either EU or national funds within innovation investment funds.
  • European guidelines for relevant and fit-for-purpose evidence generation for digital health products and solutions should be developed.
  • The specifics of digital health products and solutions must be considered when developing instruments for assessing and rewarding the value they provide for patients, healthcare actors, health systems’ sustainability and society.

Lack of adequate reimbursement pathways, alongside lack of interoperability and other factors, are among the most important barriers for the digital transformation of health and care.