Outpatient care in pulmonology - a scientific analysis and a position paper of the German Society of Respiratory Medicine (DGP)

Introduction The ambulantization of patient care that were previously provided as inpatient service is one of the goals of the current reform in the German healthcare system. In pulmonology, this particularly applies to endoscopic procedures. However, the real costs of endoscopic services, which form the basis for the calculation of a future so called hybrid DRG or in the AOP catalog, are unclear. Methods After selection of use cases including endoscopic procedures which can be performed on an outpatient basis by a committee of experts the appropriate DRGs were identified from the 21-KHEntgG data for 2022 published by the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK). The costs were calculated from the respective InEK cost matrix added by the calculated material costs. Results The use cases suitable for outpatient treatment were systematic endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) with transbronchial needle aspiration (calculated costs euro 2,175.60 without or euro 3,315.60 including PET/CT), navigation-assisted bronchoscopy for peripheral lesions (depending on the methodology euro 2,870.23 to euro4,120.23) and diagnostic (flexible) bronchoscopy (euro 1,121.02). Conclusion Outpatient treatment of endoscopic procedures that were previously performed inpatient is possible and necessary, and the costs calculated in this publication can form a reliable basis for appropriate reimbursement. Together with a structural quality that has been transformed to outpatient service and cross-sector cooperation, continued high-quality care for pneumological patients can be ensured.