Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2025
Author Spotlight: Analgesic Effect of Tuina on Rat Models with Compression of the Dorsal Root Ganglion Pain
Published on: July 14, 2023
Complementary and integrative medicine - Resolving situations of reduced remuneration for additional work under the
Fabian Grass1, Chantal Berna2, Charles-André Vogel3
1Department of Visceral Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV, University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Aim Of The Study:
Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) has been increasingly recognized as offering promising treatment adjunctions in various clinical settings, even amongst patients with serious, chronic, or recurrent illness. Today, only few tertiary care facilities in Switzerland offer dedicated CIM services for inpatients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether CIM services for complex medical conditions are adequately valued by the national inpatient SwissDRG reimbursement system.
Methods:
A simulation was performed by adding a specific code of the Swiss classification of interventions (CHOP) to the list of codes of each patient who received CIM therapies at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) in 2021. This code is to be used when CIM services are provided. Hitherto, it was not entered due to a lack of specific documents justifying the resources used. The analysis focused on the impact of adding this CIM CHOP code on the Swiss Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) reimbursement.
Results:
In total, 275 patients received a CIM therapy in 2021. The addition of the CIM CHOP code 99.BC.12 (10-25 CIM sessions per stay) resulted in a simulated loss of income of CHF 766 630 for the hospital, while the net real result is already negative by more than CHF 6 million. The DRGs positively impacted by the addition of CIM CHOP code 99.BC.12 had a mean (SD) cost weight (CW) of 1.014 (0.620), while the DRGs negatively impacted had a mean (SD) CW of 3.97 (2.764) points.
Conclusion:
It is necessary to quickly react and improve the incentives contained in the grouping algorithm of the prospective payment system, whose effects can threaten the provision of adequate medical care to the patients despite suitable indications and potential for cost-savings.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Integrated Healthcare System
01:30Health Information Technology and Healthcare Information System
Health Information Technology, commonly called HIT, integrates advanced information systems and technology in healthcare settings. Its primary functions include:
01:26Methods Of Healthcare Delivery System
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is...
01:11Secondary Healthcare System
01:27Nursing Clinical Information System
A Nursing Clinical Information System (NCIS) is a specialized type of healthcare information system tailored to meet the unique needs of nursing practice. It incorporates the principles of nursing informatics to streamline information management and improve the quality of care delivery.
Critical attributes of NCIS include:
01:26Traditional Level Of Health Care System
The preventive healthcare service includes tests for screening. Preventive health care services include identifying and reducing disease risk...