Dentist of Choice, page 2

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Featured Dentist
Kasra Saremi-Rad

Dr. Med. Dent.

Insurances: All Insurances

Address:

Langegasse 65

1080 Vienna


Featured for
  • Implantology
  • Periodontology
  • General Dentistry

Featured for

  • Implantology
  • Periodontology
  • General Dentistry
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What is a dentist of choice?

Put simply, a doctor of choice in any medical specialty is a doctor who does not have a contract with a health insurer here in Vienna. This stands in stark contrast to so-called panel doctors who have contracts with one or more of the local health insurers. This is why there are significant cost and reimbursement differences between a dentist of choice and a panel dentist, which we will shortly review in more detail.

At first, we should clarify that many dentists of choice nevertheless have contracts with a few select health insurers like SVS (previously SVA) because these contracts enable them to offer a broader treatment spectrum than the one they could offer in the case of a contractual relationship with the Viennese regional health insurance fund.


What does a dentist of choice offer?

Dentists, who are dentists of choice, generally offer a broader array of services than panel dentists because panel dentists have to adhere to a set of services (also called service catalogs) that is set for them by the health insurers. In other words, health insurers limit the spectrum of services that panel dentists may offer, which is why many dentists decide to forego contracts with them and, instead, become dentists of choice so they can have more freedom in choosing how to best treat their patients. This is why most innovative and new procedures are often offered only by dentists of choice.

An additional benefit that dentists of choice offer their patients is their ability to spend more time with them because the duration of their procedures is not dictated by the health insurers, which also stipulate how long a given procedure may take in their service catalogs. 


Does reimbursement work differently for dentists of choice than it does for panel dentists?

The main difference in terms of reimbursement is that patients, who receive treatment from a dentist of choice, have to pay the bill that they receive right after their treatment of via mail 100% themselves first before they can file for reimbursement from their health insurer. Some dentists of choice make it a little easier for their patients and offer them the extra service of submitting their bills with the health insurers for reimbursement directly. Once the submitted bills are reviewed and approved by the health insurer, the patient receives a part of his or her service cost as a reimbursement. That amount equals 80% of the fee that a panel dentist would have received for performing the same procedure. This is a key point to remember! Here, we are not talking about 80% of the amount on the patient's bill but, rather, about 80% of the fee that the health insurer usually pays to its contracted dentists for the same procedure. For the patient, this means that he or she will usually receive an amount that is less than 80% of their bill because procedure prices are generally a bit higher among dentists of choice. 

An additional important factor to remember is that insurers only pay for those procedures which they cover for panel dentists as well. In other words, treatments that are not included in the service spectrum of the health insurer are not reimbursed at all. Such services are usually those for which there is no clear proof of medical necessity (e.g., laser therapy and professional dental cleaning). In the realm of dental medicine, there are also a few other procedures that are not fully covered and paid for by insurers, such as several forms of permanent tooth replacements (e.g., dental bridge).


Is a dentist of choice better than a panel dentist?
The most significant advantages of a dentist of choice are their broader service offering and the fact that they spend more time with individual patients. Also, it is usually easier to find appointments with them.

The main drawbacks all have to do with treatment costs, which are often very difficult to estimate ahead of time because different dentists of choice charge different amounts and different insurers may reimburse different fractions of said amounts. This lack of price transparency is particularly annoying prior to an appointment because it can sometimes lead to unintended misunderstandings regarding the difference between actual and expected procedure prices. This is why DentalAce has developed two unique functions – our Price Check and our personal request – in an effort to solve this problem and to thereby more effectively match dentist-seeking patients with capable dentists of choice.


For more interesting stories, feel free to check out the DentalAce blog and join our community via a free subscription online on our website.

All the Best & see you soon, Ace!


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