Since 1 January, hospitals have been working with a new list of procedures that can be performed as a day case. Last year there were still 246 procedures on the so-called A-list, now no less than 551. After a knee or hip prosthesis, you no longer have to spend the night in the hospital. Although this is still possible, if the doctor deems it necessary.
In addition to the A-list, there is also a B-list: it contains procedures for which a day admission must absolutely suffice. Think of removing varicose veins or removing tonsils in children. A classic hospitalization with overnight stay is seen as superfluous. Hospitals can still opt for it, but will only be reimbursed as if it were an ordinary day admission. In other words, hospitals that allow patients to spend the night unnecessarily will be penalized financially.
“A hospital stay is expensive for society,” Minister Vandenbroucke defends the new rules. The money saved will be reinvested in the hospitals, it sounds. “But also: no one likes to be in hospital, recovering is often easier at home and, moreover, you avoid the risk of contracting a hospital infection at home.” According to the Vandenbroucke cabinet, 7 percent of hospitalized patients still contract a hospital infection.
Reduce work pressure
The reform should also help to reduce the staff shortage in hospitals. After all, overnight stays in the hospital mean a lot of extra work. By reducing overnight stays, Vandenbroucke wants to reduce the workload. The cabinet estimates that the number of traditional hospitalizations will fall from 700,000 to regarding 480,000 due to the new rules.
The fact that hospitals are under considerable pressure was revealed earlier this week. The peak of the corona pandemic is definitely behind us, but UZ Leuven still has to postpone part of the non-urgent care. The culprit: the combination of corona, RSV and a flu epidemic. As a result, there are not only many patients, but also many staff themselves fall ill.
The renewal fits in with a major hospital reform that Vandenbroucke wants to have launched during this legislature. The minister is convinced that he is on schedule for this.
Although Vandenbroucke’s zeal for reform also causes bad blood. BVAS, the largest doctors’ union, is threatening to withdraw from the Medicomut agreement. This agreement lays down, among other things, which rates affiliated doctors may charge. According to BVAS, Vandenbroucke leaves doctors too little room to choose whether or not they want to work at the fixed rates.