Service text
„Eingehende, das gewöhnliche Maß übersteigende Beratung - auch mittels Fernsprecher -“Not alongside — per the Gebührenverzeichnis (36)
Numbers the fee schedule names together with this one in an exclusion sentence. Open a chip for the wording, in German, and where it stands; about a particular case the sentence says only what it says.
Number 3 is the consultation that exceeds the usual extent — and the only number in this section whose Allgemeine Bestimmung sets three conditions at once: a minimum duration, a restriction to standing either alone or alongside one of the named examinations, and a duty to justify billing it more than once per treatment case. 150 points give 8,74 € at the single rate and 20,11 € at the 2.3-fold rate.
The service text of Number 3
Between Number 1 and Number 3 there is no time threshold, but a comparison: the consultation must be one that „das gewöhnliche Maß übersteigende“ — exceeds the usual extent. What the usual extent is, the ordinance does not say; it assumes it and requires that the particular consultation go beyond it.
The addition about the telephone stands here too, word for word as in Number 1. The medium decides nothing for the thorough consultation either.
What sets this number apart from every other in this section is the density of its conditions. It is tied to a minimum duration, it may stand only alone or alongside one of the six named examination numbers, and billing it a second time within the same treatment case requires a special justification — not on request, but as a rule.
The sentences below stand exactly like this in the Gebührenverzeichnis — some as an Allgemeine Bestimmung to Abschnitt B, some directly under Number 3. They are quoted here in German, word for word rather than summarized, because the German wording is what is legally binding: the sentence that excludes two numbers from each other is exactly the sentence that matters, and a paraphrase of it would be a claim of its own. The English text after each dash is a working translation, not a substitute for the statutory wording.
- „Die Leistung nach Nummer 3 (Dauer mindestens 10 Minuten) ist nur berechnungsfähig als einzige Leistung oder im Zusammenhang mit einer Untersuchung nach Nummer 5, 6, 7, 8, 800 oder 801. Eine mehr als einmalige Berechnung im Behandlungsfall bedarf einer besonderen Begründung.“ — The service under Number 3 (a minimum duration) is billable only as the sole service, or in connection with an examination under Number 5, 6, 7, 8, 800 or 801. Billing it more than once per treatment case requires a special justification.
- „Die Leistungen nach den Nummern 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 und/oder 8 können an demselben Tag nur dann mehr als einmal berechnet werden, wenn dies durch die Beschaffenheit des Krankheitsfalls geboten war. Bei mehrmaliger Berechnung ist die jeweilige Uhrzeit der Leistungserbringung in der Rechnung anzugeben. Bei den Leistungen nach den Nummern 1, 5, 6, 7 und/oder 8 ist eine mehrmalige Berechnung an demselben Tag auf Verlangen, bei der Leistung nach Nummer 3 generell zu begründen.“ — Services under Numbers 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and/or 8 may be billed more than once on the same day only where the nature of the case required it. Where billed more than once, the time each service was performed must be stated on the invoice. For services under Numbers 1, 5, 6, 7 and/or 8, billing more than once on the same day must be justified on request; for the service under Number 3, always.
- „Die Leistungen nach den Nummern 1, 3, 22, 30 und/oder 34 sind neben den Leistungen nach den Nummern 804 bis 812, 817, 835, 849, 861 bis 864, 870, 871, 886 sowie 887 nicht berechnungsfähig.“ — Services under Numbers 1, 3, 22, 30 and/or 34 may not be billed alongside services under Numbers 804 to 812, 817, 835, 849, 861 to 864, 870, 871, 886 or 887.
- „Als Behandlungsfall gilt für die Behandlung derselben Erkrankung der Zeitraum eines Monats nach der jeweils ersten Inanspruchnahme des Arztes.“ — For treatment of the same illness, the treatment case is the period of one month after the patient's first attendance.
- „Anstelle oder neben der Visite im Krankenhaus sind die Leistungen nach den Nummern 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 und/oder 15 nicht berechnungsfähig.“ — Instead of or alongside a hospital ward round (Visite), services under Numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and/or 15 are not billable.
The multiplier for Number 3
Number 3 stands in Abschnitt B, so it falls within the ordinary fee range: from the single rate up to the 3.5-fold rate, with the 2.3-fold rate as the span within which, under § 5 Abs. 2 Satz 4 GOÄ, a fee is as a rule assessed.
For this number, § 5 Abs. 2 Satz 3 GOÄ is the sentence a justification runs up against: criteria for assessment already accounted for in the service description are left out of consideration. That the consultation was thorough and exceeded the usual extent stands in the service text itself — it is already reflected in the point count, and does not by itself carry an increase.
Above the 2.3-fold rate, § 12 Abs. 3 GOÄ applies: written, tied to the particular service, comprehensible and traceable for the person liable to pay, and to be explained further on request.
What the record has to carry for Number 3
This number asks more of the record than any other in this section, because it carries more conditions. The minimum duration, the fact that it stood as the sole service or alongside one of the named examinations, and — on a second billing within the same treatment case — the special justification: all of that later stands either in the record or nowhere.
§ 12 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 GOÄ expressly requires the invoice to state „einschließlich einer in der Leistungsbeschreibung gegebenenfalls genannten Mindestdauer“ — including any minimum duration named in the service description. An invoice can only carry that statement if someone recorded it during the consultation.
Independently of that, § 630f BGB requires the essential measures and their results in immediate temporal connection with the treatment. For a long conversation, that means recording not just that a consultation took place, but what it was about.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Number 3 and Number 1?
The service text. Number 1 values the consultation; Number 3 values the consultation that is „eingehende, das gewöhnliche Maß übersteigende“ — thorough and exceeding the usual extent. Added to that are conditions the Allgemeine Bestimmung sets that Number 1 does not carry: a minimum duration, and a restriction to standing either alone or alongside one of the named examinations.
Alongside which services may Number 3 be billed?
The Allgemeine Bestimmung says: only as the sole service, or in connection with an examination under Number 5, 6, 7, 8, 800 or 801. It may not be billed alongside Numbers 804 to 812, 817, 835, 849, 861 to 864, 870, 871, 886 or 887.
What does Number 3 cost?
150 points times the point value of 5,82873 Cent give a single standard fee of 8,74 €. The 2.3-fold rate is 20,11 €, the 3.5-fold rate 30,60 €.