New emergency service regulations / fees from January 2020 (Emergency Service Fee Schedule)

• 24.12.2019
• Sven Jan Arndt
• no comments

From January 2020, new tariffs for the emergency service of veterinarians will apply according to the law passed by the Federal Council on December 20, 2019 (emergency service GOT).

Reason: Comprehensive emergency veterinary care is increasingly at risk

Until now, practices and clinics have barely been able to cover the costs. To comply with working time regulations, increased staffing levels are necessary, and these must be paid for. Therefore, higher fees are intended to help increase the contribution margin.

In human medicine, collective bargaining agreements stipulate night and on-call shifts of up to 36 hours and are compatible with the Working Time Act. This does not apply to employed veterinarians – even on emergency duty, they are only allowed to work eight, or a maximum of ten, hours at a time and must then observe an eleven-hour rest period. This is also monitored by the trade supervisory office, and violations by veterinary practices/clinics are punished with heavy fines. This, however, leads to a significant staff shortage; the costs and the availability of qualified personnel are difficult for many practices and clinics to manage.

Key points of the update Emergency service GOT

So what specific legal changes are planned from January 2020?

• „"Emergency service fee": In the future, a mandatory, flat-rate basic fee of 50 euros will be charged for a veterinary emergency outside of regular office hours.
• Minimum fee for veterinary services: Emergency services must be billed at a minimum of double the standard fee from the date the law comes into effect; optionally, depending on the complexity of the case, they can be billed at a maximum of four times the standard fee (previously a maximum of three times the standard fee).
• Changed emergency service hours: The "nighttime" is being extended; it now lies working days between 6 p.m. (previously 7:00 PM) in the evening and 8 o'clock (previously 7 a.m.) in the morning. Furthermore, new weekend times now apply – previously the weekend was defined as Saturday from 1 p.m. to Monday 8 a.m. Now the Weekend from Friday 6 pm to Monday 8 am, The new emergency service fees must be charged for this period. (Note for employed veterinarians: These "emergency service hours" are not identical to the hours after which a night/weekend shift surcharge is payable under labor law.)

This last point in particular led to unrest and misunderstandings – our good news for you:

The German Federal Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons clarifies that we will continue to offer regular consultation hours on Saturdays and evenings until 7 p.m. without These surcharges are permitted and will be levied!

The obligation to charge an emergency service fee and at least twice the standard fee, omitted for services provided within the framework of regular office hours Services must be provided by a veterinary practice, veterinary clinic, or other veterinary facility. If a practice offers regular consultation hours on Friday evenings until 8:00 PM or Saturday mornings, this is not considered an emergency veterinary service. Nothing will change regarding regular office hours.

What constitutes an emergency?

The German Federal Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons also felt it was important to reiterate what constitutes an emergency and what services are provided by the emergency service and what are not. You will find comprehensive information on this topic in the attached flyer from the German Federal Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons: