On January 1, 2021, the DRG package for 2021 (RZ21) came into force to implement measures for remote provision of specialist medical care introduced during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, including four new codes for reimbursement of remote consultations.
Instead of outpatient consultation, a healthcare provider can do the consultation remotely. A first outpatient visit, which is carried out by telephone or in writing, may temporarily be registered as a regular first outpatient visit. It is already permitted to register a screen-to-screen consultation as the first consultation. Four new procedure codes for remote consultations:
- 190164 "Call consultation to replace a first outpatient clinic visit"
- 190165 "Screen-to-screen consultation to replace a first outpatient clinic visit"
- 190166 "Screen-to-screen consultation to replace a repeat outpatient clinic visit"
- 190167 "Written consultation to replace a first outpatient clinic visit"
The Dutch Healthcare Authority changed the rules for several procedures so that face-to-face contact is no longer required. However, all conditions related to the provision of remote care must be met. For example, a remote consultation may only be registered and reimbursed if it replaces an outpatient clinic visit.
The full details in Dutch can be found here.
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