Frequently asked questions about the dbc

The term DTC (DBC in Dutch) stands for “Diagnosis Treatment Combination”. A DTC care product is the entirety of all steps required to treat a condition or illness, from the first consultation up to and including the final check-up.

The invoice for hospital care is drawn up on the basis of the reimbursements that have been determined for a specific DTC care product. We don’t look at exactly how much care you have received, but how much care is given on average during such treatment. A fixed amount therefore applies for a DTC care product. In some cases, such reimbursement is too high (you have spent less time with a specialist), but in other cases it is too low (your treatment took more time than usual).

DTCs are used because the government wants to stimulate market forces in the healthcare sector. Because DTCs promote transparency about treatments and costs, patients and policyholders can choose care more consciously.

They are:
• Hospitals
• Independent treatment centres
• Private clinics
• Independently established medical specialists
• Specialist mental healthcare
• Rehabilitation centres

You can contact us or your healthcare provider for this. Our contact details are listed on the contact page on this website.

That’s not possible. The start date specified by the hospital must always be the same as the date of the first consultation. We recommend contacting the accounts department of your healthcare provider if this is not correct.

The first contact with your healthcare provider is the moment a DTC starts. When the treatment has been completed, the doctor can close the DTC. A DTC is valid for a maximum of 120 days. Sometimes, a DTC is closed earlier. For example, a period of 42 days applies for an operation, and for outpatient treatment without surgery a period of 90 days after opening the DTC. After closing the DTC, the invoice is drawn up and sent.

Note: if the DTC period has ended while your treatment is still ongoing, a follow-up DTC will be opened. If the start date of this follow-up DTC falls in a different year than the original DTC, you will receive an invoice for the compulsory excess for both years. We allocate the compulsory excess to the year in which the DTC was started. This also applies to a 42-day ‘surgery DTC’. If the follow-up appointment is more than 42 days after surgery and in a different year, you have to pay the excess for two years.

The invoice is not drawn up and sent until after the DTC has been closed. So this may take a while.

Yes, they can. Usually a different DTC is opened in the second hospital, depending on the care you have already received in the first hospital. These two DTCs are usually different from each other.