Psychologists of the State Council against the new reimbursement …

Thanks to an agreement between the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, FPS Public Health and the sector, it is now possible to pay 11 euros to visit a psychiatrist per consultation, albeit under conditions and a limited number of sessions. But the scheme was not universally welcomed.

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APPELpsy, KLIpsy, UPpsy-BUPsy, and APPpsy, four associations of psychologists, are heading to the State Council to request that the agreement be rescinded. They are smaller organizations than the Flemish Association of Clinical Psychologists (VVKP), which was involved in negotiating and signing the agreement, but according to Steve Goss of UPpsy-BUPsy, together they represent hundreds of psychologists.

Confidentiality and professional abuse

The associations believe the agreement conflicts with their professional secrets, because the reimbursement plan includes a role for the general practitioner. The psychiatrist should share information about the patient with the GP.

“This is not a problem if the doctor is already aware, but we know from research that this is rare,” says Joss. “In most patients, the GP knows nothing about it. The fact that you lose your right to a refund if you don’t want the GP to know that you are seeing a psychiatrist is a problem.”

Moreover, the limited funding – 151 million euros – means that cheaper care is not yet possible for every patient and not every psychiatrist. “There will be a selection of who can participate and who can’t. Nobody knows what that choice will depend on,” Joss says. “This is completely arbitrary.”

The four associations propose as an alternative to extending the current reimbursement through health insurance funds.

Read also. Not the hoped-for landslide after all: barely 30 percent of psychologists will be able to get 11 euros (+)