Bariatric surgery

In October 2026, the Danish Healthcare Quality Institute (DHQI) published its first national referral guideline, introducing a new instrument to standardize patient referrals in Denmark. The guidelines aim to establish consistent nationwide criteria for access to existing assessment and treatment services, reduce geographical variation in referral practices and support the appropriate use of healthcare resources. The first guideline addresses corrective plastic surgery after massive weight loss and will take effect on 1 January 2027.

In August 2026, the Finnish Coordinating Center for Health Technology Assessment announced the completion of five rapid hospital HTAs in diagnostic imaging, gastrointestinal, neurovascular, peripheral vascular, and some other fields.

As of April 2026, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN) is working on coverage positions in several areas, including otorhinolaryngology, dentistry, vascular interventional radiology, and gastroenterology fields.

In January 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released three Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned digital technologies for chronic tic disorders and Tourette Syndrome, bariatric surgical interventions for severe obesity, and laparoscopic surgery and medical treatment for deep endometriosis.

In December 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released three Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned endoscopic treatments for obesity, whole-genome sequencing for rare diseases in newborn screening, and a tele-ophthalmology-enabled and artificial intelligence-ready referral pathway for community optometry referrals of retinal disease.

On January 30, 2025, the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) published the list of requests for innovation funding (NUB) submitted by hospitals in 2024. The medical technologies of cardiovascular, endoscopy, extracorporeal, gastrointestinal, neuromodulation, peripheral vascular, and other technology groups obtained positive status 1.

In January 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedures Guidance (Transperineal laser ablation for lower urinary tract symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, electrically stimulated intravesical therapy for interstitial cystitis or overactive bladder) and one new Early Value Assessment (Artificial intelligence technologies to help detect fractures on X-rays in urgent care). Furthermore, one new clinical guideline was published, and one was updated.

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.

The Danish Health Authority has initiated a process of assessing the national clinical recommendations. Work is set to start in 2024. Recommendations in diagnostic imaging, endoscopy, endocrine, ENT, gastrointestinal, nephrology and urology, neurology and neurosurgery, neuromodulation, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pulmonary and airways, radiotherapy, spine, and some other fields are considered for reassessment.

In February 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedures Guidance on endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty for obesity. Furthermore, one Health Technology Evaluation using early value assessment (digitally enabled therapies for adults with depression) was updated.

In January 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released one Med Tech-related assessment in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned bariatric surgery in adults with severe obesity in Scotland. 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.

In June 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedure Guidance (irreversible electroporation for treating prostate cancer) and one new Diagnostic Guidance (AI-derived computer-aided detection (CAD) software for detecting and measuring lung nodules in CT scan images). Also, three clinical guidelines were updated.