My girlfriend went to a hausarzt few weeks ago because of some random issue that went away in the meanwhile. What they did is consultation and some blood tests. Final invoice: 264CHF consultation + 160 from some Viollier AG (I guess the company that did the test). Is this ok? Welcome to Switzerland I guess?
Hi everyone,
I mean, in the 264 hausarzt I see all kind of charged stuff like Glukose, Hemoglobin, Natrium, Kreatinin, etc. Why is Viollier AG gave me invoice? I don't even know who is this.
Yep. We got hit with some 350 CHF for some rather basic medical tests as well. As soon as a lab is involved it gets silly in CH. And no, that cant be explained with Swiss costs alone...
Without knowing the extent of the consultation, it’s difficult to say. Was it a 15 minute meeting without any physical examination, or something more extensive. The blood tests seem OK but, again, it depends what was tested.
Its a laboratory. They will do the work for you GP. And they will send you a bill. You need to pay it and then you can hand it to your insurance. Depending on the "franchise" you choose will you at some point get reimbursed. I took a high franchise so I dont see any reimbursement for the first 2k (!!!) CHF per year...
Viollier is a blood testing lab. It is normal for them to invoice you directly.
I see on invoice from HausArzt:
128CHF - medical treatment (ok consultation)
136CHF - Laboratory
with some email with the results and values for:
"Hämatologie
EC Erythrozyten
HB Hämoglobin
HKT Hämatokrit
MCV Mittleres Zellvolumen (MCV)
MCH Mittlerer zellulärer Hämoglobingehalt (MCH)
MCHC Mittlere zelluläre Hämoglobinkonzentration (MCH
RDW Erythrozytenverteilungsbreite (RDW)
TC Thrombozyten
MPV Mittleres Thrombozytenvolumen (MPV)
PCT Thrombokrit (PCT)
LC Leukozyten
LYM# Lymphozyten absolut
LYM% Lymphozyten Prozent
MON# Monozyten absolut
MON% Monozyten Prozent
GRA# Neutrophile Granulozyten absolut
GRA% Neutrophile Granulozyten Prozent
Klinische Chemie
HBA1C Glykiertes Hämoglobin (HbA1c)
NA Natrium
GLU Glucose
K Kalium
CHL Chlorid
CREA Creatinin
AST Aspartat-Aminotransferase (ASAT)
ALT Alanin-Aminotransferase (ALAT)
GGT Gamma-Glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT)
TBIL Bilirubin total
Fer Ferritin
Hormone
TSH Thyreotropin qn. (TSH)
Infektiologie
CRP C-reaktives Protein qn."
All good 270CHF for this and consultation, whatever let's say it's fair.
Then again,
Viollier AG 160CHF - Laboratory
What these guys did???
I'm not 100%, but the first laboratory includes the drawing of blood.
The second is the lab that does the testing.
My GP does some testing inhouse, all other stuff is sent out.
What are the Tarif, Tarifziffer, and Bezugsziffer?
Alright then, seems like you had similar situations. Then I'll just try act like it's normal. Also in the future I might even argue that it's fair and justified because it's a swiss quality blood tests if other post comes in the future related to this subject.
The first 270 bill is probably only for time for the doctor consultation and his reading of the results and discussing them with the patient. The list you gave is the sheet with the actual results for your records.
The second 160 bill is from the lab for doing the actual tests and sending the results to the doctor.
These prices are fairly standard for this type of work in Switzerland. The prices for these typical blood tests are regulated under the basic insurance scheme.
If you think you are overcharged you can ask directly the doctor or you can send the bill to your health insurance and ask them to clarify. But most likely in this case the amounts are correct
This is what your health insurance is for...
There is a long list of records. I uploaded it here
Why? It could be normal or it could be way off. So far we cannot tell but only guess based on the total sum. As I said, we would have to know the Tarif, Tarifziffer, and Bezugsziffer to give a detailed answer.
I even got a third bill, when I went back to the GP to discuss the results.
And also a fourth bill, because one specific exam was invoiced separately and arrived later.
Don't get me started...
Some even have employees who speak English
Those are the lab tests carried out at the doctor’s surgery and the doctor’s fee for the consultation.
They must have sent blood to an external laboratory for tests that they can’t do in house. Does the bill from the laboratory not give a breakdown of the costs and tests performed?
Maybe I haven't received yet the bill from laboratory (I only know from statement from insurance-css)
This is an email she received from the haus-arzt, if it matters: I attached it here:
The doctor’s practice has only billed you for the clinical chemistry tests. The other tests (haematology, hormones etc) were carried out by the external lab and that’s what they’re billing you for.