According to a press release from the Chronic Wound Initiative (ICW), wound care for hard-to-heal and chronic wounds is also possible in non-home settings by specialized facilities and nursing services.
The guideline for this was updated on September 17, 2020, by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) on the basis of a change in the law pursuant to Section 37 of the German Social Code, Book V, dated September 1, 2019.
According to this, specialized nursing facilities and nursing services outside the home are allowed to provide high-quality care to patients with the above-mentioned wound type, so that the service providers can then also benefit from this, i.e. receive performance-related remuneration.
All the associations agree that a uniform national regulation is desirable that takes into account the payment of all treatment care measures carried out on the patient in relation to chronic wounds.
The GKV-Spitzenverband places in particular further requirements on specialized mechanisms, which aim at the further training and specialized auxiliary qualifications, at specialized societies oriented.
However, there is not yet agreement between nursing care associations and payers on the exact remuneration. For the time being, however, remuneration for new services can depend on each individual case and be based on service group 4. In more time-consuming treatments, double billing may also be possible, depending on the service and time involved. Instead of 20 minutes, 40 minutes should then be billed.
The ICW has its own ideas in this regard. Flat rates per case with additional measures play a role here, or the workload according to time or wound size, coupled with additional treatment measures.
Source: Lifepr