Since 2018, all outpatient complementary medicine services must be billed according to Tariff 590 throughout Switzerland.
Until now, there have been two ways of issuing invoices that comply with federal requirements, namely a PDF form to be filled in manually or professional software. From 1 January 2022, there will soon be only one: the official PDF form will disappear.
Migrating to professional software is the next step for complementary medicine therapists who do not already have it.
Overview: Tariff 590
Introduced on 1 January 2018 by the Complementary Medicine Insurers Group, Tariff 590 lists complementary medicine therapies, procedures and methods provided by therapists, with a corresponding tariff heading for each service. It also imposes a single billing format.
The objective of the introduction of Tariff 590 was to harmonise the billing of complementary medical services.
On the one hand, by listing the services provided by complementary medicine therapists, this standard has made it possible to standardise the names of the various therapeutic activities in this sector throughout Switzerland. Thus, the various services provided by therapists are now clearly delineated for greater transparency.
On the other hand, the single billing format has led to more efficient processing of invoices and facilitates reimbursement by health insurers. Invoices are also easier to understand.
Farewell to the form
Already in 2020, the official PDF for the 590 invoice stopped being distributed or updated. Although it was still possible to use the existing PDF versions for billing complementary medicine services, the validity of these forms is coming to an end.
Thus, any therapist who does not have professional software that supports Tariff 590 will be unable to bill from 1 January 2022. Adopting billing software adapted to the needs of complementary medicine now will ensure the sustainability of your business.
The ASCA-certified solution developed by MCA Concept for complementary medicine practitioners, LCA 590, meets current billing standards.
We are seeing more and more federal requirements being put in place that require a digital solution: having the right tools in place today will ensure that you are one step ahead of the changes of tomorrow.