In order to be able to specifically bill medical services in the German healthcare system, the services must first of all be specifically recognisable.
For this purpose, there are specific OPS codes which are used for the coding of the specific service. If innovative medical services are added, it is necessary to adapt the coding. The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) is responsible for the further development of the classifications, which concerns both OPS- and ICD-10-GM codes.
Applications for the further development of the classifications can be submitted to the BfArM every year by the end of February.
This year the submission process experienced technical issues. “We prepared several applications for new OPS codes on behalf of our customers and submitted some of them ourselves,” states Sven Sauermann, Managing Director of Healthcare Heads, commenting on the current application process. While automatic confirmation emails were still being sent after submission on the morning of 29 February, there was no response from the BfArM later in the day, apparently there were problems with the servers, the BfArM informed Healthcare Heads on request. Accordingly, the BfArM has postponed the application procedures for new OPS codes or ICD codes until 4 March 2024.
You can find more information on how to obtain product-specific reimbursement here.
Author: Healthcare Heads GmbH
Phone: +49 431 800 1470
E-Mail: info@healthcareheads.com