Table 3.
Overview of cost sources for Germany
| Item | Source | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Publisher | Description | Access and update | Comment | |
| Physicians: consultations, visits, outpatient procedures | |||||
| Consultations (including home visits) and outpatient procedures for GPs and specialists | Einheitlicher Bewertungsmassstab | SHI (represented by KBV) | Medical and related procedures in outpatient setting, covered by SHI |
Free; online at kbv.de/html/online-ebm.php Updated regularly |
|
| Consultations (including home visits) and outpatient procedures for GPs and specialists | Standardisierte Bewertungssätze | SHI (represented by KBV) | Standardized costs, based on SHI expenditure, per physician–patient contact |
Bock et al. 2015, Gesundheitswesen Update possible based on methods outlined in the article |
Used frequently by publications in German setting |
| Consultations (including home visits) and outpatient procedures for GPs, specialists and dentists | Gebührenordnung für Zahnärzte, Gebührenordnung für Zahnärzte | PHI | Medical and related procedures in outpatient setting, covered by PHI |
Free; online at e-bis.de/goae/defaultFrame.htm and bzaek.de/fileadmin/PDFs/goz/gebuehrenordnung_fuer_zahnaerzte_2012.pdf Updated regularly |
|
| Consultations and outpatient procedures for non-physicians | Preisvereinbarungen und Vergütungslisten bei Heilmitteln | SHI (represented by vdek) | Tariffs for medical procedures performed by non-physicians |
Free; online at vdek.com/vertragspartner/heilmittel/preisvereinbarungen.html Updated regularly |
|
| Ambulance transport | |||||
| EMS and planned patient transport | Gebührensatzung Rettungsdienst | Kreis Euskirchen (Northrine-Westphalia) | Fee schedule for EMS and planned patient transport |
Free, online at https://www.kreis-euskirchen.de/service/downloads/gefahrenvorsorge/5_322GebuehrSatzgRD.pdf Updated regularly but frequency dependent on county/region |
No standardized EMS fee structure in Germany Similar data available for other counties/regions |
| Hospitalization (including ER and ICU treatment) | |||||
| Hospital | G-DRG-Fall-pauschalen-Katalog | SHI (represented by InEK) | DRGs for inpatient procedures, including their coding and costs |
Free, online at https://www.g-drg.de/G-DRG-System_2018/Fallpauschalen-Katalog/Fallpauschalen-Katalog_2018 Updated regularly, usually yearly |
Monetary value of base rates provided by vdek (vdek.com/vertragspartner/Krankenhaeuser/landesbasisfallwerte.html) |
| Medication (drugs and consumables) | |||||
| Drugs and consumables |
Lauer-Taxe® Rote Liste® |
Lauer-Fischer GmbH Rote Liste® Service GmbH |
Databases for drug and consumable prices |
Proprietary, online at cgm.com/lauer-fischer/loesungen_lf/lauer_taxe_lf/lauer_taxe.de.jsp and rote-liste.de/ Updated regularly |
Databases require paid subscription |
| Intangible costs | |||||
| Wages | Average wage | OECD | Annual average wage and hours worked data |
Free, online at https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/average-wages.htm and https://data.oecd.org/emp/hours-worked.htm Updated regularly |
Data provided in US dollars for all countries, which increases comparability |
DRG, Diagnosis-Related Group; EMS, Emergency Medical Services; GP, General Practitioner; KBV, Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung; OECD, PHI, Private Healthcare Insurance; SHI, Statutory Healthcare Insurance; vdek, Verband der Ersatzkassen