Assessment of non-drug interventions

IQWiG is often perceived as a kind of “drug inspection agency”. However, the Institute also assesses non-drug interventions such as medical devices, diagnostic tests or psychotherapies.

The following comparison shows that some things are different:

  Drugs Non-drug interventions
European product approval Central approval (by EMA) Decentral approval (e.g. by TÜV, the German Technical Inspection Agency)
Benefit assessment Each new product is assessed (except for orphan drugs) Only a few high-risk procedures and new outpatient procedures are assessed
Number of assessments per year About 100-200 About 10-20
Basis of the benefit assessment Manufacturer dossier (IQWiG conducts literature searches only for special projects) IQWiG literature searches (manufacturer dossier only for high-risk medical devices)
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