Route to permanent reimbursement
The route to permanent reimbursement is longer than initially assumed by the pilot projects call. Due to the rapid digitization, various countries have intensified the development of regulations in recent years to assess and fund digital health technologies on common grounds. Examples of this include Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. The experience gained from the pilots serves as a basis for creating a similar framework and funding model in Estonia to increase transparency and provide clarity in the journey to obtaining permanent funding for new service models.
During the call, it became clear to the Health Insurance Fund that new service models containing digital solutions, first (1) the effectiveness and security of the digital solution should be evaluated; (2) then information security and data protection; (3) feasibility study should be carried out; (4) identify positive health benefits for individuals. For the Health Insurance Fund to make funding decisions, it is necessary to compare evidence-based data on the impact of the digital solution with current practice. The experience from sample projects showed that obtaining sufficient evidence requires more than just one study. The figure illustrates various stages. Further information can be found here.
