Reimbursement Process Research Articles

Streamlining Patient Data Processing for Payer Compliance with Scalable Big Data Automation

In the fast-changing environment of value-based healthcare, providers must prepare and submit diagnosis files for patients to payers with ever-changing requirements from CMS for contracts. Changing specifications from payers repeatedly requires a flexible system to automatically process items with little reliance on human intervention. It provides a scalable data engineering framework that makes use of PySpark and Apache Airflow to automate and streamline the generation of patient diagnosis files. Its design allows it to be dynamically adapted to changes in specifications, which enhances both operational efficiency and compliance with the automation of complex data transformation processes and large-scale data processing. This framework not only optimizes the reimbursement process but also strengthens the foundations of value-based care by supporting improved patient outcomes and ensuring financial alignment with payer requirements through improving accuracy, timeliness, and reducing manual coding efforts. The proposed framework significantly enhances data processing speed, achieving a 50% reduction in processing time compared to the traditional ETL approach. It offers scalability improvements, allowing data handling from 1 TB to 5 TB—an increase of four times the previous limit—while minimizing manual effort through automation with Airflow, resulting in a 70% reduction in manual intervention.

Is Canada Moving towards a More Agile Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement Process with a Shifting Role for Real-World Evidence (RWE) for Oncology Drugs?

Canada is known to have a complex pathway for new drug approval and reimbursement, resulting in delayed access for patients with serious and life-threatening diseases, such as cancer. Several recent publications from key stakeholders, including patients, physicians and policymakers, highlight patient helplessness, physician frustrations and policymakers entangled in a massive network of bureaucracy unable to make headway. Several quantitative and qualitative assessments using time from regulatory approvals to successful reimbursements confirm long review times and high rejection rates for oncology drugs, especially those receiving conditional approvals. A consensus forum of 18 Canadian oncology clinicians recently voiced frustration with the process and inability to deliver guideline-supported efficacious therapies to their patients. This manuscript compares data extracted from publicly available data sources from 2019 to June 2024 to previous publications. Methods: Public databases from Health Canada, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), which is in the process of changing to Canada's Drug Agency, and the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) were reviewed and the data collected were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: From the data, three trends emerge, (i) an increasing number of oncology drugs are receiving conditional approvals from Health Canada, (ii) the percentage of conditionally approved oncology drugs receiving positive reimbursement recommendations from CADTH is still low but appears to be improving, but delays in access are now contingent upon pCPA deciding whether to negotiate price and then the duration of any negotiation, and (iii) real-world evidence is no longer part of the decision-making for conditional approvals. A slight increase in the positive endorsement of RWE used to support CADTH recommendations was observed. Conclusions: The lack of timely access to oncology drugs hurts Canadian patients. While a small trend of improvement appears to be emerging, longer-term data collection is required to ensure sustained patient benefits.

Utilising Health Technology Assessment to Develop Managed Access Protocols to Facilitate Drug Reimbursement in Ireland.

The Health Service Executive, responsible for operating the Irish health service, has introduced health technology management (HTM) initiatives to manage expenditure on medicines. One such approach is managed access protocols (MAPs) to support access to high-cost medicines, while providing oversight, governance and budgetary certainty to the payer. Herein we describe the development and operation of MAPs, using case studies of liraglutide (Saxenda®), dupilumab (Dupixent®) and calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibodies. A MAP imposes the eligibility criteria attached to reimbursement support of a medicine. Criteria applied include controls on prescribing authority, clinical diagnostic and severity criteria, previous lines of treatment, concomitant treatments, outcome data collection, and validations within the reimbursement claims system. The choice of criteria are specific to each medicine, dictated by the areas of uncertainty highlighted in the health technology assessment report, such as the place in treatment, population, duration of treatment, etc., the commercial arrangements reached with the marketing authorisation holder, and specific recommendations made by the decision maker. By December 2023, there were28 medicines reimbursed subject to a MAP in Ireland. Across the three case studies outlined, over 3000 patients were accessing novel treatments for chronic illnesses in September 2023. Managed access protocols can provide some cost certainty for the payer by aligning utilisation and expenditure with committed funds, while enabling access where unmet need is highest. Managed access protocols are now established in the drug reimbursement process in Ireland, meeting the needs of both payers, patients and industry, and are likely to remain a feature of the reimbursement landscape.

Factors influencing the reimbursement of cancer drugs in Europe: A scoping review.

Reimbursement process of oncology drugs in Europe occurs within a complex decision-making process that varies between Member States. Distinctions between the States trigger societal debates since it is necessary to balance access to medicines and health systems sustainability. We aimed to review the evidence concerning factors associated with the reimbursement decision or Health Technology Agency recommendation of oncology drugs in Europe. A systematic literature search was performed in two databases from inception to august 2023. Screening and data extraction were performed by pairs. Thirteen articles were included and encompassed data from 11 nations. Seven articles showed that cost-effective (C-E) drugs and lower Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs) had higher likelihood of reimbursement. Disease severity might influence the reimbursement decision with financial agreements. Improvement in clinical outcomes, substantial clinical benefit (p < 0.01) or overall survival gains (p < 0.05) were positively associated. Orphan drug designation impact varies between countries but positive decisions are usually achieved under specific conditions. Clinical and C-E uncertainty frequently led to reimbursement with financial agreements or outcomes-based conditions. Sociodemographic factors as: social health insurance system, higher Gross Domestic Product and larger elderly population were positively associated with reimbursement (p < 0.01). There is a need for further research into key determinants of reimbursement decisions in Europe and the development of drug access models that can effectively address and overcome costs and effectiveness uncertainties.

Content and Duration of Doctor-Patient Communication in Outpatient Oncology Follow-Up Consultations in China.

Purpose This study aimedto analyze the content of counseling between cancer patients and physicians during outpatient follow-up, assess the duration of different communication content, and explore the influencing factors. Patients and methods We observed consecutive cancer patients without a first diagnosis of malignancy who presented to the oncology outpatient clinic of a public hospital from October through December 2023. A structured observation form was used to record the content and duration of doctor-patient communication. All variables were electronically recorded and stored on a data management platform. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the determinants of consultation duration. Results Our study included 620 cancer patients, of whom 281 individuals had distant metastasis. The average consultation duration for 620 cancer patients was 4.85 minutes (standard deviation of 3.09 minutes). The category of doctor-patient communication was routine outpatient follow-up, involving 182 patients, with an average consultation duration of 3.81 minutes (standard deviation of 2.24 minutes). The main communication content for 51 patients was about the admission procedures, with an average consultation duration of 3.00 minutes (standard deviation of 1.92 minutes). For 67 patients, the primary communication involved the prescription of anti-tumor medications, with an average consultation duration of 3.70 minutes (standard deviation of 2.30 minutes). Symptom control discussions were the main communication content with 107 patients, with an average consultation duration of 5.91 minutes (standard deviation of 3.44 minutes). The main communication content of 24 patients involved medical insurance reimbursement, with an average duration of 7.75 minutes (standard deviation of 4.63 minutes). Consultations accompanied by caregivers and the presence of metastatic tumors were positively associated with consultation duration, whereas female patients with genital malignancies were negatively associated with consultation duration. Communication about symptom management and communication about medical insurance reimbursement waspositively associated with the duration of medical consultations. Communication about administering the formalities requisite for patient admission was negatively associated with the consultation duration. Conclusion We classified the main contents of doctor-patient communication in the oncology outpatient clinic and found that the contents of doctor-patient communication tended to be monotone and systematized. Oncology outpatient models should consider the integration of caregiver involvement. The reason for the shorter outpatient consultation duration in female patients of cancer primary in the reproductive system needs further investigation. The intricate medical insurance reimbursement process poses an increasing time challenge for outpatient clinicians. In addition, the adequacy and effectiveness of symptom management services provided to cancer patients during oncology outpatient follow-up requirefurther evaluation and review.

From Indication-Based Pricing to Blended Approach: Evidence on the Price and Reimbursement Negotiation in Italy.

New indications for existing medicines are increasing over time. In most countries, drug pricing and reimbursement conditions are renegotiated every time a new indication is approved. There is a growing interest in the price negotiation model for new indications, specifically comparing an indication-based versus blended approach. However, little evidence currently exists regarding the complexity of these negotiations and their impact on actual prices. Italy has recently transitioned from an indication-based approach to a blended price model. This study aims to measure the impact of price and reimbursement negotiation of new indications on discounts (i.e. actual prices) and on the negotiation duration, used as a proxy of its complexity. We considered new indications approved through a European centralized procedure from January 2013 to March 2022 for which the price and reimbursement status was approved in Italy between January 2015 and March 2022, amounting to 52 new indications. Data on the timeframe of the Italian price and reimbursement process and its phases were obtained from publicly available sources. Discounts for the first indication and their subsequent increases for new indications were estimated by comparing ex-factory prices and tendered prices. To calculate p-values, we employed the Mann-Whitney test, and multiple regression models were utilized to examine correlations between negotiation time and the characteristics of the medicines. The mean time to reimbursement was 603 days, in contrast to 583 days for the first launch. Price negotiation took longer for rare diseases, cancer drugs, and in case of therapies with minor added therapeutic value. On average, the additional discount (on top of discounts for prior indications) was 13%, significantly lower than the mean discount for the first indications approved (24.9%). The discounts increment was lower, but negotiation took longer if a Managed Entry Agreement accompanied the final agreement. Additionally, discounts have increased over the years. The negotiation for new indications takes longer than the first one, and provides, on average, an additional discount of 13%. While our findings bear the potential for significant policy implications, they necessitate prudent interpretation due to a limited number of observations. The increasing trend in additional discounts over time applied to all indications in recent negotiations, may suggest a descending trend of value for new indications and a shift from an indication-based pricing approach to a blended model. Otherwise, budget impact considerations might have outweighed a value-based approach in the recent negotiations. If so, two potential options for restoring a value-based approach are returning to an indication-based pricing or giving explicit and higher weight to value within a blended model.

Research on the Innovation of Enterprise Accounting Management under the Financial Shared Service Model

Abstract Financial shared services not only improve operational efficiency and reduce management costs but also realize auxiliary data analysis and management decision-making work, creating more value for enterprises. This paper builds a financial shared service system based on image recognition and extraction of financial bills to realize the functions of financial content recognition, voucher generation, application recognition, and administrative approval. We perform pre-processing tasks like binarization and edge detection on the financial bill image to identify the form lines. We then use the Hough transform to solve the function of the form lines, rotate, and correct the tilt angle. The form structure and financial text detection method are created based on the accurate form line detection. Analysis of two companies using the system of this paper reveals that the number of entered field information can be reduced by 91.48% of the entry workload after optimizing the system of this paper. The economic efficiency of labor costs can be significantly improved by reducing the time spent by reimbursement personnel in the reimbursement process by approximately 4,400 hours per month. By using the system in this paper, a new document can be created and submitted for approval in just 11 minutes, which reduces the document time by 86.25%. The constructed scores for the four first-level indicators, A, B, C, and D, range from 80 to 90 points, resulting in a total score of 87.417 points for the comprehensive evaluation. The construction of the financial shared service system in this paper consolidates the enterprise financial business into a centralized processing system, thereby enhancing the quality and efficiency of enterprise accounting management.

探析OA系统下高校财务报销流程的设计与实现

探析OA系统下高校财务报销流程的设计与实现

Identifying Barriers and Facilitators for Increasing Uptake of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors in British Columbia, Canada, using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

Care gaps remain in modern health care despite the availability of robust, evidence-based medications. Although sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have demonstrated profound benefits in improving both cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in patients, the uptake of these medications remain suboptimal, and the causes have not been systematically explored. The purpose of this study was to use the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to describe the barriers and facilitators faced by clinicians in British Columbia, Canada, when prescribing an SGLT2 inhibitor. To achieve this, we conducted semistructured interviews using the CFIR with practicing family physicians, nephrologists, endocrinologists, and cardiologists in British Columbia. Semistructured interviews. British Columbia, Canada. Actively practicing family physicians, nephrologists, endocrinologists, and cardiologists in British Columbia. Twenty-one clinicians were interviewed using questions derived from the CFIR. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, and each transcription was individually analyzed in duplicate using thematic analysis. The analysis focused on identifying barriers and facilitators to using SGLT2 inhibitors in clinical practice and coded using the CFIR constructs. Once the transcriptions were coded, overarching themes were created. Five overarching themes were identified to the barriers and facilitators to using SGLT2 inhibitors: current perceptions and beliefs, clinician factors, patient factors, medication factors, and health care system factors. The current perceptions and beliefs were that SGLT2 inhibitors are efficacious and have distinct advantages over other agents but are underutilized in British Columbia. Clinician factors included varying levels of knowledge of and comfort in prescribing SGLT2 inhibitors, and patient factors included intolerable adverse events and additional pill burden, but many were enthusiastic about potential benefits. Multiple SGLT2 inhibitor related adverse events like mycotic infections and euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis and the difficulty in obtaining reimbursement for these medications were also identified as a barrier to prescribing these medications. Facilitators for the use of SGLT2 inhibitors included consensus among colleagues, influential leaders, and peers in support of their use, and endorsement by national guidelines. The experience from the clinicians regarding costs and the reimbursement process is limited to British Columbia as each province has its own procedures. There may be responder bias as clinicians were approached through purposive sampling. This study highlights different themes to the barriers and facilitators of using SGLT2 inhibitors in British Columbia. The identification of these barriers provides a specific target for improvement, and the facilitators can be leveraged for the increased use of SGLT2 inhibitors. Efforts to address and optimize these barriers and facilitators in a systematic approach may lead to an increase in the use of these efficacious medications.

Access to innovative medicines in Slovenia

Reimbursement is acknowledged to be a critical determinant of patient access to innovative medicines, necessitating a balance between accessibility and financial viability. Approximately 35 new innovative medicines and an additional 20 therapeutic indications are assessed from clinical and economical aspects during the reimbursement procedure every year in Slovenia. At the European Union level, ongoing efforts to unify assessment procedures of clinical domains are underway. These initiatives should improve the reimbursement process and ensure timely access to innovative therapies that will be aligned to the evolving needs of healthcare systems across the European Union.

PP40 Structuring Unstructured Medical Device Reimbursement In India

IntroductionAs India makes rapid strides towards universal health coverage, focusing on medical device reimbursement is key to ensuring patient access to device-based technologies. The nascent medical device reimbursement process offers a promising opportunity for interventions driven by a diverse group of stakeholders. We conducted policy research to capture these diverse perspectives and highlight key elements to develop a structured framework for reimbursement.MethodsThis research was a two-part process, including secondary research with expert interviews followed by policy research using focus group discussions (FGDs) through an online workshop with key stakeholders. We developed a white paper proposing changes to the reimbursement pathway, based on a benchmarking study of global markets and interviews with experts in the field. As a next step, key changes proposed in the white paper were deliberated upon by three focus groups (six to eight participants). Group participants were selected by quota sampling and represented key stakeholders in the reimbursement process. A discussion guide was used to capture participants’ opinions and an addendum to the white paper was released highlighting small, actionable, and impactful changes to the reimbursement process.ResultsFGDs with key stakeholders highlighted the need to establish a more structured, inclusive, and transparent process. Accordingly, we proposed key recommendations to the medical device reimbursement process in India. A first change is the creation of an online submission portal allowing different healthcare stakeholders to submit new technologies for consideration through a streamlined pathway. Secondly, we proposed enhancing evaluation transparency by improving availability of publicly shared information on the evaluation process, metrics, and assessment timelines. We also suggested adoption of adaptive health technology assessments to leverage existing evidence for faster, efficient decision-making.ConclusionsThrough this process, we created a pragmatic and concrete call for a stronger voice from care-providers and patient groups in the evaluation process. Consecutively, the proposed innovative framework introducing value-based incentives for implantable medical devices will be instrumental in enabling access to quality health care for poor patients. These strategies follow the principles of value-based care and will go a long way in achieving better health outcomes for the population. The scientific initiative has been made possible with the support of St. Jude Medical India Pvt Ltd (now Abbott).

PP18 Unlocking The Potential Of Medical Device Reimbursement In India For Better Health Outcomes

IntroductionThe Indian healthcare landscape has witnessed several promising changes including the introduction of a comprehensive medical technology inclusion process, Diagnosis-related group (DRG)-pilot and value-based incentives for hospital services under the national public health insurance scheme. Realizing the need for a more patient-centric stance towards improving healthcare outcomes as the way forward, we propose incremental changes including greater participation of public and private care-providers in topic prioritization and the appraisal committee. We also propose a unique evidence-driven approach using reimbursement as a lever for rewarding quality and innovation in medical technologies.MethodsWe developed two discussion guides to capture the ideas around deeper involvement of care-providers and patient societies, and introduction of value-based reimbursement for incentivizing high-quality implantable medical devices in India. The guides were prepared using secondary research and key informant interviews. Over 25 key stakeholders representing payers, regulatory agencies, government authorities, clinical experts, and industry players selected through quota sampling participated in a roundtable meeting. Based on the meeting outcomes, key recommendations for leveraging medical device reimbursement for better health outcomes were developed.ResultsThis qualitative research was carried out with participation of key stakeholders across the medical device reimbursement process. The group proposed recommendations for bringing care-providers closer to the process through a structured and inclusive nomination approach involving therapy users and patient groups at various stages of evaluation. Complementing the existing value-based incentives framework for hospital services, we proposed a similar two-step pathway for incentivizing quality of implantable medical devices. The proposal includes the introduction of certification-based and outcome-based incentives built on a scientific and holistic evaluation criterion.ConclusionsThrough this process, we created a pragmatic and concrete call for a stronger voice from care-providers and patient groups in the evaluation process. Consecutively, the proposed innovative framework introducing value-based incentives for implantable medical devices will be instrumental in enabling access to quality health care to poor patients. These strategies follow the principles of value-based care and will go a long way in achieving better health outcomes for the population. The scientific initiative has been made possible with the support of St. Jude Medical India Pvt Ltd. (now Abbott).

Big data-based digital management system for the whole process of financial reporting in SMEs

Abstract Based on big data technology, this paper designs a digital management system for the whole process of financial reimbursement and gives the automatic transformation process of digitalization of financial reimbursement claims and accounting documents. In the K-Means algorithm, the AHC algorithm idea is introduced to construct the DH-K-Means clustering algorithm, which in turn enables the financial reimbursement behavioral portrait of enterprise employees to be constructed. To confirm the effectiveness of the system application in this paper, performance testing and portrait analysis were carried out. The results show that the maximum memory utilization of the database server is 50.42% when the number of concurrent users is 100, and the average response time of the system reaches a maximum of 825.63ms when the number of concurrent users is 200. Based on big data, the whole process of financial reporting digital management system has good stability, which can make enterprises more aware of their financial situation and then develop appropriate financial reimbursement strategies.

Expanding access to high-cost medicines under the Universal Health Coverage scheme in Thailand: review of current practices and recommendations

BackgroundThere has been an increasing demand to reimburse high-cost medicines, through public health insurance schemes in Thailand.MethodsA mixed method approach was employed. First, a rapid review of select high-income countries was conducted, followed by expert consultations and an in-depth review of three countries: Australia, England and Republic of Korea to understand reimbursement mechanisms of high-cost medicines. In Thailand, current pathways for reimbursing high-cost medicines reviewed, the potential opportunity cost estimated, and stakeholder consultations were conducted to identify context specific considerations.ResultsHigh-income countries reviewed have implemented a variety of pathways and mechanisms for reimbursing high-cost medicines under specific eligibility criteria, listing processes, varying cost-effectiveness thresholds and special funding arrangements. In Thailand, high-cost medicines that do not offer good value-for-money are excluded from the reimbursement process. A framework for reimbursing high-cost medicines that are not cost-effective at the current willingness-to-pay threshold was proposed for Thailand. Under this framework, specific criteria are proposed to determine their eligibility for reimbursement such life-saving nature, treatment of conditions with no alternative treatment options, and affordability.ConclusionHigh-cost medicines may become eligible for reimbursement through alternative mechanisms based on specific criteria which depend on each context. The application of HTA methods and processes is important in guiding these decisions to support sustainable access to affordable healthcare in pursuit of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

The reimbursement decision speed for oncology new drugs in China and its determinant factors.

China has initiated national price negotiations to improve access to innovative drugs. Learning the factors that contributed to the time gap from marketing authorization to reimbursement leads to more clarity to decision-making, which remains under-researched in China. We collected new oncology drug approvals that were marketed before 30 Jun 2022, using the Listed Drug Database of the Chinese drug agency. Major information of each approval was obtained from the published review report, including the first approval region (China or the US) and the receipt of expedited review pathways (priority review and conditional approval). The reimbursement lists issued by China National Healthcare Security Administration from 2015 to 2023 were used to determine the reimbursement status of drugs. The duration from marketing authorization to reimbursement was defined as the reimbursement decision speed, and the Cox regression was performed to explore the underlying factors. A total of 186 oncology approvals were included. More than half of the approvals qualified for reimbursement (110[59.14%]), and the median reimbursement decision speed was accelerated from 540.5 days in the third-round negotiation to 448 days in the seventh-round. Domestic new drugs had a higher probability of being adopted by the Chinese payer than drugs developed by foreign companies (adjusted HR = 3.73, 95% CI 2.42 to 5.75; P < 0.001). Furthermore, new drug applications receiving the regular review pathway were more likely to be reimbursed (adjusted HR = 2.15, 95% CI 1.13 to 4.08; P = 0.020) compared to those approved under the conditional approval pathway. These findings indicate that the Chinese government is actively working toward improving access to new oncology drugs. The faster reimbursement decision speed for domestic drugs might be attributed to their pricing advantages and the regulator's efforts to stimulate innovation in the domestic pharmaceutical industry. However, concerns about the uncertainty in drug benefits can affect the reimbursement decision-making, which suggests the delicate tradeoff between drug accessibility and risk involved in the reimbursement process.

AVAILABILITY OF MEDICINES AS A RESULT OF REIMBURSEMENT MECHANISMS AND MEDICAL INSURANCE IS AN ISSUE FOR DISCUSSION

Availability of medicines, their quantity, quality, and appropriate documentation organization regarding distribution, storage, and sales – is one of the priority tasks of the healthcare system of each country. In European Union countries, a significant portion of expenditures for ensuring pharmaceutical supplies is covered by the state, implementing the principle of equal access of the population to effective medicines at an affordable price, which underlies the mechanisms of pricing and reimbursement. To achieve these goals, requirements are outlined in Directive 89/105/EEC of December 21, 1989, «On the transparency of measures regulating the pricing of medicinal products for human use and their inclusion in the system of national health insurance», aimed at promoting the development of the pharmaceutical industry both in the direction of developing expensive innovative drugs and in providing patients with quality generics. Thus, the main mechanism for ensuring the availability of medicinal products and medical devices for the population is the reimbursement program – the complete or partial refunding to entities engaged in retail trade of medicinal products, of the cost of medicinal products or medical devices dispensed to patients based on prescriptions, at the expense of the State Budget of Ukraine. The main objective of regulatory activities remains comprehensive regulation. Individual healthcare questions, including the provision of medicinal products, have been explored in the works of Yu. Bytiak, V. Kolpakov, R. Maidanyk, O. Myronets, I. Seniuta and others. The purpose of this publication is to review the normative and legal regulation of the reimbursement mechanism and practical implementation issues. Different countries establish their own reimbursement mechanisms, which vary in terms of funding sources, reimbursement conditions, price regulation methods, selection criteria for medicinal products, and key nosologies for treatment. The recipients of such systems may include socially vulnerable segments of the population, individuals suffering from severe or chronic illnesses, as well as various types of pharmaceutical assistance such as inpatient and outpatient care. Depending on the specifics of healthcare systems in different countries, different compensation mechanisms may be used. For example, this may involve the reimbursement of the cost of medicines for insured individuals, where the patient’s treatment expenses are covered by the insurance company or compensated to pharmacy establishments, with settlements being made between the insurance fund, healthcare facility, and pharmacy based on contracts. In Ukraine, in the absence of a mandatory medical insurance system, the reimbursement process operates in the form of the state program «Accessible Medicines», where the state compensates pharmacy establishments for the full or partial cost of medicines from the respective list.

Improvement of the financial management supervision system of universities in the context of big data

Abstract This paper first describes the process of the BP neural network mining algorithm, then applies the optimization algorithm to optimize the BP neural network model to improve its performance. The data mining algorithm is used to mine the financial management and supervision data of colleges and universities and analyze the problems in the financial management and supervision system of colleges and universities in terms of the financial management reimbursement process, budget process, financial information entry, and financial supervision respectively, and put forward suggestions for improvement. Regarding the awareness of financial information in colleges and universities, only about 30% of the people in each project said they understood it. In terms of financial work satisfaction, more than 50% are satisfied and very satisfied. On the problems of the reimbursement process, 87.75% of people think the approval process is long, 70.5% think the reimbursement rework rate is high, and 57.6% think the reimbursement queuing time is long. It is difficult to track the budget progress on a financial budget, lack of modern technology in the financial system, and lack of budget supervision are the top three, accounting for 77.3%, 77.5%, and 69.6%, respectively. Financial management in universities should keep up with the times and actively reform for the existing problems.

Digital Health Applications (DiHA): Approaches to develop a reimbursement process for the statutory health insurance in Austria

PurposeTo elaborate a concept for implementing digital health applications (DiHA), including prioritisation criteria (PC) for the Austrian context and an overview of available prioritised DiHAs. MethodsBased on European DiHA-listings and input by Austrian experts, a categorised meta-directory of DiHAs was created. PC were developed to reflect, inter alia, the provisions of the Austrian General Insurance Act, and were applied to the meta-directory to identify DiHAs potentially relevant for the Austrian statutory health insurance. An iterative process with expert involvement was used to tailor an existing reimbursement framework to the Austrian setting. ResultsThe meta-directory comprised 132 DiHAs. Developed PC focused on plausibility (German language) and legal aspects (treatment/monitoring of chronic conditions), while other criteria (e.g. interoperability standards) were considered optional. After applying the PC, 38 DiHAs were potentially relevant in the Austrian setting. Of these, only seven supported current health record integration. Most of the prioritised DiHAs reported on CE marking (29/38) and data protection (35/38), while reporting on risk class (10/38) and technical algorithms (0/38) was sparse. For DiHA reimbursement, a four-step process is proposed: identification (ideally based on needs assessment); filtering based on PC; review of technical, regulatory and evidentiary requirements; and health technology assessment. ConclusionThe proposed concept can offer guidance for policy makers (e.g., on prioritising available DiHAs) and may further foster scientific debate with regard to DiHA implementation. Further discussion on how to fully incorporate regulatory, technical, and evidentiary criteria is needed. Attention should be given to national implementation requirements, re-assessment criteria, and appropriate remuneration schemes.

Optimization of Expense Reimbursement Process of Financial Sharing Center

In recent years, the financial sharing center has become a hot spot, many large multinational enterprises set up their own financial sharing center, what is more, the financial sharing center is set up as a separate company, in order to more convenient division of rights and responsibilities, but also can widely accept the business of other enterprises, in order to increase their own revenue. In these financial sharing centers, expense reimbursement is an important part, and the scientific and smooth process is the key to determine the working efficiency of employees. Therefore, constantly optimizing the expense reimbursement process of the financial sharing center has become one of the important tasks of the financial department. This paper takes P Business Service (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. as an example to specifically describe how to optimize the expense reimbursement process to improve work efficiency.

Time to reimbursement of novel anticancer drugs in Europe: a case study of seven European countries

Time to reimbursement (TTR) of new anticancer medicines differs between countries and contributes to unequal access. We aimed to investigate TTR of new anticancer medicines and explore factors influencing the reimbursement process in seven high-income European countries. We carried out a retrospective case study of anticancer medicines with European Union Market Access (EU-MA) and a positive Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use opinion from 2016 until 2021 with subsequent national reimbursement approval (NRA). The National Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and reimbursement websites of Germany, France, UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland were used to identify TTR, defined as time from EU-MA to NRA. Additionally, we investigated medication-, country-, indication- and pharma-related factors potentially influencing TTR. Thirty-five medicines were identified for which TTR ranged from -81 days to 2320 days (median 407 days). At data cut-off, 16 (46%) were reimbursed in all seven countries. Overall, the shortest TTR was in Germany (median 3 days, all medicines reimbursed <5 days). The time limit for reimbursement of 180 days stated by the Council of European Communities after the EU-MA (EU Transparency Directive) was met for 100% of included medicines in Germany, 51% in France, 29% in the UK and the Netherlands, 14% in Switzerland, 6% in Norway and 3% in Belgium. The TTR was significantly different between countries (P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, factors associated with shorter TTR were higher gross domestic product (GDP), absence of a pre-assessment procedure and submission by a big pharmaceutical company. TTR of anticancer medicines varies significantly between seven high-income European countries and leads to inequality in access. Among explored medication-, country-, indication- and pharma-related factors we found that a high GDP, the absence of a pre-assessment procedure and submission by big pharmaceutical companies were associated with shorter TTR.