La Libre published an interview this week with the BFAP chairman regarding the nomenclature reform, and the figures do not lie. The median income of an outpatient psychiatrist is 71,997 euros per year, according to 2024 RIZIV figures, three times less than a colleague in a hospital setting. Between 2018 and 2024, outpatient activity shrank by 4 percent. Young colleagues are moving to hospitals en masse, not out of a preference for that setting, but because outpatient practice is no longer financially viable for them.
The nomenclature reform, which was intended to strengthen outpatient psychiatry, threatens to abolish long consultations. It is precisely these 45-minute consultations that allow a psychiatrist to thoroughly assess a patient, build a therapeutic relationship, and initiate psychotherapy for conditions such as personality disorders or post-traumatic stress. In 30 minutes, there is little room left for anything other than discussing medication.
The figures behind this plea are firmly supported by evidence. A study in The Lancet Psychiatry (2016) shows a social return on investment of 2.3 to 5.7 euros for every euro invested in accessible outpatient care, primarily through avoided hospitalizations and return to work. The latter carries significant weight: 37.6 percent of all disability in Belgium has a psychological origin. BFAP is requesting an investment of just over 100 million euros in the outpatient nomenclature, just enough to break the perverse logic where hospitalization is more financially advantageous than preventing it.
If you have been wondering for some time whether anyone is noticing this reality: this is that notice. BFAP brings your figures to Medicomut, to parliament, and to the press, and will continue to do so as long as the reform moves in the wrong direction.
The more colleagues who become members, the greater our weight at the negotiating table. Join BFAP and strengthen the advocacy for your own practice.
Read the full article: https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/politique-belge/2026/07/28/le-cri-dalarme-des-psychiatres-cette-reforme-menace-de-nous-porter-le-coup-de-grace-A777FWLOCBDFDK7IHZ2OKW4QKU/