ENT

During Q2 Q3 2026, the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) published three recommendations, including robotic-assisted bronchoscopy. Furthermore, SHTG published three Innovative Medical Technology Overviews covering cardiovascular, ENT, and gastroenterology fields, and is currently working on several assessments, including coronary CT angiography and CT fractional flow reserve, and wearable home-testing devices for obstructive sleep apnoea.

On October 1, 2026, the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) published the second release of the DRG package for 2027 (RZ27b). One new procedure code will be introduced in the ENT field. No new diagnoses or DRGs are introduced, and no new supplementary payments (OZP) are added in the Med Tech-related field. The effective date of the release is January 1, 2027.

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.

As of March 2026, the Scottish Health Technologies Group is working on health technology assessments in several areas, including diagnostic imaging, e-health, endoscopy, ENT, in-vitro diagnostics, and radiotherapy.

In January 2026, nine new topics were added to the Implementation Agenda of the Care Evaluation and Appropriate Use (ZE&GG) program, requiring healthcare providers to implement these evidence-based practices in daily care and to demonstrate results within two years. The topics concerned the in-vitro diagnostic, gastrointestinal, and ENT fields. Additionally, 16 topics were removed from the agenda, as most had been sufficiently implemented and others were no longer relevant.

On November 28, 2025, the entity managing the DRG system in Switzerland, SwissDRG, published the final (billing) version of the 2026 DRG system. In total, 19 new DRGs related to cardiovascular, ENT, gastrointestinal, neurology and neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, and some other fields were introduced. Also, four new add-on reimbursement categories were added.

Since March 2025, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN) has been establishing new standards for vascular surgery and cancer treatment, resulting in the centralization of complex interventions only in hospitals that consistently demonstrate a high volume of such procedures. In November 2025, the seven regions agreed on which hospitals would provide complex cancer and vascular procedures starting in 2026, with a one-year transition period before the new care distribution began on January 1, 2027.

As of October 2025, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN) is working on coverage positions in several areas, including otorhinolaryngology, neurology, dental surgery, cardiovascular, and oncology fields.

As of October 2025, the Scottish Health Technologies Group is working on health technology assessments in several areas, including diagnostic imaging, e-health, endoscopy, ENT, in-vitro diagnostics, neurology, orthopedics, and robotic surgery procedures.

In August 2025, Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI/RIZIV) updated the List of implants and invasive medical devices. A new sub-chapter for bone conduction hearing systems with nine material codes was introduced. One new material code was added for bipolar radiofrequency endometrial ablation. Two new Nominative lists for brand-specific bone conduction hearing systems were also published. Changes will come into force on September 1, 2025.

In July 2025, the HTA body of Tuscany Regional Healthcare published nine rapid HTA reports (eight new assessments and one reassessment) of medical devices in the ENT, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, peripheral vascular, and surgical procedures fields.

In the first and second quarters of 2025, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN) published three coverage positions concerning the ENT, gastrointestinal, and in-vitro diagnostic fields. Two of the three decisions (Internal nasal valve correction for airway blockage and molecular diagnostics of the NTRK gene fusion in cancer patients) received favorable recommendations for coverage under basic health insurance.