What are analog digits?
Analog services or analog figures are medical services that are not explicitly listed in the medical fee schedule, but which must still be billed. The doctor providing the service can and must then invoice the service not listed on the basis of a service listed in the GOÄ that is as equivalent as possible. This analogous service to be invoiced should be associated with approximately the same cost and time expenditure. The analog service must be marked accordingly on the invoice and described in detail. Our next article may also be of interest to you: How to recognize lung cancer?
Why has there been no adjustment since 1996? What is the situation with the amendment?
The last comprehensive reform of the fee schedule for physicians took place in 1982. The GOÄ, which consists of a total of 37 sections, has not been comprehensively amended since then. The last amendment from 1996 only included the amendment of 11 of the 37 sections. Currently, the efforts of the German Medical Association and private health insurers to completely revise the fee schedule for physicians are ongoing. While it was initially planned to present the amended GOÄ by the end of 2017, the current status and next steps are now to be discussed at the 121st German Medical Council in May 2018.
Digit 1
With the number 1 of the fee schedule for physicians the medical consultation is accounted for. The basic value for number 1 is 4.66 Euro. If the figures are invoiced at the average fee rate, i.e. 2.3 times the fee rate, the fee for the medical consultation is 10.72 Euro. It should be noted that clause 1 also covers medical advice given exclusively by telephone.
Digit 3
Item 3 also serves for the billing of the medical consultation, which may also be exclusively by telephone.In contrast to paragraph 1, paragraph 3, however, is explicitly a detailed consultation that exceeds the usual extent. In-depth is defined here in that the consultation must have taken at least 10 minutes. The amount defined under point 3 is 8.74 Euro. After multiplication by the average fee rate, the amount for number 3 is 20.11 Euro.
