Digital Health Reimbursement Strategies of 8 European Countries and Israel: Scoping Review and Policy Mapping
BackgroundThe adoption of digital health care within health systems is determined by various factors, including pricing and reimbursement. The reimbursement landscape for digital health in Europe remains underresearched. Although various emergency reimbursement decisions were...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2023-09-01
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| Series: | JMIR mHealth and uHealth |
| Online Access: | https://mhealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e49003 |
| _version_ | 1797670780542124032 |
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| author | Robin van Kessel Divya Srivastava Ilias Kyriopoulos Giovanni Monti David Novillo-Ortiz Ran Milman Wojciech Wilhelm Zhang-Czabanowski Greta Nasi Ariel Dora Stern George Wharton Elias Mossialos |
| author_facet | Robin van Kessel Divya Srivastava Ilias Kyriopoulos Giovanni Monti David Novillo-Ortiz Ran Milman Wojciech Wilhelm Zhang-Czabanowski Greta Nasi Ariel Dora Stern George Wharton Elias Mossialos |
| author_sort | Robin van Kessel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundThe adoption of digital health care within health systems is determined by various factors, including pricing and reimbursement. The reimbursement landscape for digital health in Europe remains underresearched. Although various emergency reimbursement decisions were made during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable health care delivery through videoconferencing and asynchronous care (eg, digital apps), research so far has primarily focused on the policy innovations that facilitated this outside of Europe.
ObjectiveThis study examines the digital health reimbursement strategies in 8 European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and Israel.
MethodsWe mapped available digital health reimbursement strategies using a scoping review and policy mapping framework. We reviewed the literature on the MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, and Web of Science databases. Supplementary records were identified through Google Scholar and country experts.
ResultsOur search strategy yielded a total of 1559 records, of which 40 (2.57%) were ultimately included in this study. As of August 2023, digital health solutions are reimbursable to some extent in all studied countries except Poland, although the mechanism of reimbursement differs significantly across countries. At the time of writing, the pricing of digital health solutions was mostly determined through discussions between national or regional committees and the manufacturers of digital health solutions in the absence of value-based assessment mechanisms. Financing digital health solutions outside traditional reimbursement schemes was possible in all studied countries except Poland and typically occurs via health innovation or digital health–specific funding schemes. European countries have value-based pricing frameworks that range from nonexistent to embryonic.
ConclusionsStudied countries show divergent approaches to the reimbursement of digital health solutions. These differences may complicate the ability of patients to seek cross-country health care in another country, even if a digital health app is available in both countries. Furthermore, the fragmented environment will present challenges for developers of such solutions, as they look to expand their impact across countries and health systems. An increased emphasis on developing a clear conceptualization of digital health, as well as value-based pricing and reimbursement mechanisms, is needed for the sustainable integration of digital health. This study can therein serve as a basis for further, more detailed research as the field of digital health reimbursement evolves. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:04:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4aa25d82c1d0493fb89bade1db838f7c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2291-5222 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:04:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR mHealth and uHealth |
| spelling | doaj.art-4aa25d82c1d0493fb89bade1db838f7c2023-09-29T14:01:26ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR mHealth and uHealth2291-52222023-09-0111e4900310.2196/49003Digital Health Reimbursement Strategies of 8 European Countries and Israel: Scoping Review and Policy MappingRobin van Kesselhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6309-6343Divya Srivastavahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5135-3592Ilias Kyriopouloshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3932-8228Giovanni Montihttps://orcid.org/0009-0001-1198-7889David Novillo-Ortizhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9756-0984Ran Milmanhttps://orcid.org/0009-0002-8285-786XWojciech Wilhelm Zhang-Czabanowskihttps://orcid.org/0009-0009-8119-3257Greta Nasihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6587-4943Ariel Dora Sternhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3586-1041George Whartonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6544-3636Elias Mossialoshttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8664-9297 BackgroundThe adoption of digital health care within health systems is determined by various factors, including pricing and reimbursement. The reimbursement landscape for digital health in Europe remains underresearched. Although various emergency reimbursement decisions were made during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable health care delivery through videoconferencing and asynchronous care (eg, digital apps), research so far has primarily focused on the policy innovations that facilitated this outside of Europe. ObjectiveThis study examines the digital health reimbursement strategies in 8 European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and Israel. MethodsWe mapped available digital health reimbursement strategies using a scoping review and policy mapping framework. We reviewed the literature on the MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, and Web of Science databases. Supplementary records were identified through Google Scholar and country experts. ResultsOur search strategy yielded a total of 1559 records, of which 40 (2.57%) were ultimately included in this study. As of August 2023, digital health solutions are reimbursable to some extent in all studied countries except Poland, although the mechanism of reimbursement differs significantly across countries. At the time of writing, the pricing of digital health solutions was mostly determined through discussions between national or regional committees and the manufacturers of digital health solutions in the absence of value-based assessment mechanisms. Financing digital health solutions outside traditional reimbursement schemes was possible in all studied countries except Poland and typically occurs via health innovation or digital health–specific funding schemes. European countries have value-based pricing frameworks that range from nonexistent to embryonic. ConclusionsStudied countries show divergent approaches to the reimbursement of digital health solutions. These differences may complicate the ability of patients to seek cross-country health care in another country, even if a digital health app is available in both countries. Furthermore, the fragmented environment will present challenges for developers of such solutions, as they look to expand their impact across countries and health systems. An increased emphasis on developing a clear conceptualization of digital health, as well as value-based pricing and reimbursement mechanisms, is needed for the sustainable integration of digital health. This study can therein serve as a basis for further, more detailed research as the field of digital health reimbursement evolves.https://mhealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e49003 |
| spellingShingle | Robin van Kessel Divya Srivastava Ilias Kyriopoulos Giovanni Monti David Novillo-Ortiz Ran Milman Wojciech Wilhelm Zhang-Czabanowski Greta Nasi Ariel Dora Stern George Wharton Elias Mossialos Digital Health Reimbursement Strategies of 8 European Countries and Israel: Scoping Review and Policy Mapping JMIR mHealth and uHealth |
| title | Digital Health Reimbursement Strategies of 8 European Countries and Israel: Scoping Review and Policy Mapping |
| title_full | Digital Health Reimbursement Strategies of 8 European Countries and Israel: Scoping Review and Policy Mapping |
| title_fullStr | Digital Health Reimbursement Strategies of 8 European Countries and Israel: Scoping Review and Policy Mapping |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital Health Reimbursement Strategies of 8 European Countries and Israel: Scoping Review and Policy Mapping |
| title_short | Digital Health Reimbursement Strategies of 8 European Countries and Israel: Scoping Review and Policy Mapping |
| title_sort | digital health reimbursement strategies of 8 european countries and israel scoping review and policy mapping |
| url | https://mhealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e49003 |
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