In standard basic health insurance systems, the doctor charges for each individual service provided to his patients. This is why it is called a 'Fee For Service' system (abb. FFS).
Consequently, the more services he provides for his patients, the more he will earn. Even if the patient does not necessarily need the treatment, the doctor will still be remunerated for having provided it. After the treatment, it is practically impossible to judge which services were actually necessary.
Valid, legally binding regulations as to which measures are necessary for a certain ailment and which aren't do not yet exist in Switzerland.
This means that doctors can influence their salaries to a certain extent. This is one of the reasons why the number of health services provided in Switzerland has increased. This increase leads to higher costs. In order for insurance companies to be able to pay for these costs, they must increase their premiums from year to year.
Other tariff systems: time tariff, lump-sum tariff
