What is TARDOC? The new Swiss outpatient tariff explained
TARDOC replaced TARMED on 1 January 2026. What the new single-service tariff is, how positions and rules work — and what it means for your practice.
TL;DR
TARDOC is the Swiss single-service tariff for outpatient medical care that replaced TARMED on 1 January 2026. Each service has a tariff position with machine-checkable rules — quantities, age and sex constraints, cumulation rules — and if an outpatient flat rate applies to a treatment, the flat rate takes precedence.
TARDOC is the Swiss tariff for outpatient medical services that replaced TARMED on 1 January 2026. It defines how doctors and outpatient clinics bill individual services to health insurers under the compulsory health insurance (OKP), alongside the new outpatient flat rates (Ambulante Pauschalen).
Why TARMED was replaced
TARMED had been in force since 2004 and no longer reflected modern medical practice: outdated minute values, missing services and years of political deadlock over revisions. After the tariff partners agreed on a successor, the Federal Council approved the new tariff system, and since 1 January 2026 outpatient services are billed either through TARDOC single positions or through Ambulante Pauschalen.
How TARDOC works
- Single-service positions. Every billable service has a tariff position with a defined medical and technical service component, expressed in tariff points.
- Rules per position. Positions carry limitations — per-session and per-side quantities, age and sex constraints, and cumulation rules that define which positions may or may not be billed together.
- Tariff point value. As under TARMED, the cantonal tariff point value converts points into Swiss francs.
- Coordination with flat rates. If a treatment falls under an outpatient flat rate, the flat rate takes precedence — the same service must not additionally be billed via TARDOC single positions.
What it means for a practice
The switch is not just a new code list. Invoices are validated against the official tariff rules, and insurers reject invoices that violate limitations or cumulation rules. Practices need software that knows the rules — or a lot of manual looking-up.
That is exactly the problem Viali TARDOC is built for: describe the service in natural language, get a proposed invoice, and have it validated against the official tariff rules before it goes out.
Frequently asked questions
What is TARDOC?
TARDOC is the Swiss single-service tariff for outpatient medical care that replaced TARMED on 1 January 2026. It defines the billable positions, their point values and the rules for combining them.
Who has to bill with TARDOC?
Doctors and outpatient providers billing under the compulsory health insurance (OKP) in Switzerland use TARDOC single positions whenever no outpatient flat rate applies to the treatment.
What is the difference between TARDOC and Ambulante Pauschalen?
TARDOC bills each service individually; Ambulante Pauschalen bill a defined treatment as one flat rate. If a flat rate applies, it takes precedence over single positions.
Why do invoices get rejected under TARDOC?
Most rejections come from rule violations: exceeded per-session quantities, positions that must not be cumulated, or missing constraints such as age and side. Validating against the official rules before sending prevents this.
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Viali TARDOC
The Swiss billing assistant for TARDOC and Ambulante Pauschalen — coming soon.
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