JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The adoption of digital healthcare within health systems is determined by various factors, including pricing and reimbursement, though there is a scarcity of reimbursement and pricing models whose suitability is established. This article aimed to examine the digital health reimbursement practices in nine European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Relevant literature was extracted from Medline, Embase, Global Health, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, as well as supplemented by country experts. Digital health is reimbursable in all studied countries except Poland, though the mechanism of reimbursement differs significantly across countries. Pricing of digital health applications was mostly determined through discussions between national or regional committees and the digital health application manufacturers in absence of value-based mechanisms. Financing digital health applications outside reimbursement schemes was possible in all studied countries except Poland through health innovation or digital health-specific funding schemes. European countries show divergent approaches to the reimbursement of digital healthcare and value-based pricing frameworks range from non-existent to embryonic. Our findings highlight the need for digital health to be classified consistently between European countries to homogenise the digital healthcare ecosystem in the region. An increased emphasis on developing value-based pricing and reimbursement mechanisms is needed for the sustainable integration of digital health.