Introduction

The process of dental treatment in Germany is elaborate, even though, like other medical treatments, it is subsidised. A detailed treatment plan needs to be made, along with a calculation of the costs and who will bear how much, such as government subsidy, insurers, the patient, and so on. Only after this has been established and approvals obtained, can the treatment begin.

A fixed subsidy system was introduced on 1st January, 2005, linking a health insurance company’s subsidy to the findings instead of the treatment. The patient retained the right to a findings-based fixed subsidy regardless of the treatment opted for. This caused the diagnostic scheme to be extended by two lines each for the upper and lower jaws.

Thereafter, the dentist entered the current findings into the scheme, along with the standard care for the same, as defined in the Fifth Book of the Social Code. A cost estimate could also be requested from the laboratory for extensive dentures.

The process, as is perhaps evident, is complex, and takes away a significant part of the dentist’s time and attention in administrative work that could be devoted to patient care. The HKP (Heil- und Kostenplan), which is the process as well as the form that needs to be completed and updated, has been a challenge for dentists and their assistants to fill completely and accurately.

This was clearly a situation that was tailor-made for a digital intervention for enhancing efficiency and they were, indeed, initiated on several occasions. Unfortunately, none of these efforts resulted in a workable solution being developed.