Fees stated in advance
On request, before rather than after.
Wijnegem · Medical specialist practice
The room
The room
decides partof the bill.
In a two-bed or common hospital room, fee supplements are prohibited — whatever the doctor's agreement status. In a single room they may apply. That choice is recorded in the admission declaration you sign before admission, not discovered afterwards.
- 2009practice since
- Sharedno supplement
- Singlemay apply
- Beforeyou sign
The practice
Four things, described plainly
This page describes what the practice does. It is not advice, and it is not an encouragement to seek any intervention.
Specialist practice
Medical specialist activities, carried on under the applicable professional regulation.
See the programSupplements and rooms
Why the room you accept determines whether supplements can be charged.
See the programConsent and second opinions
Information before consent, and no discouragement of a second view.
See the programRecords and privacy
A carefully kept record, with access, copy and absolute secrecy.
See the program
How it works
How the practice works
State the recognition rather than imply a title, explain before an admission how the choice of room affects what can be charged, give the information that makes consent meaningful, and never discourage a second opinion.
Room consequences explained
Before the declaration is signed.
Information before consent
Purpose, risks, alternatives, cost.
Second opinions welcomed
Rather than quietly resisted.
Working together
Fees
Fees are in euro. Outside hospital they are stated in advance on request. For a hospital stay, the financial conditions are in the admission declaration you sign.
Consultation
The applicable fee, told to you beforehand.
- Convention status stated
- Any supplement said in advance
- No charge found at invoicing
- Errors corrected and refunded
- Reimbursement is for your fund
A hospital stay
What can be charged depends on the room you accept.
- Two-bed room: no supplements
- Common room: no supplements
- Single room: supplements possible
- Set out before admission
- Hospital sets the percentages
What is not here
Absent on purpose, not by oversight.
- No patient testimonials
- No comparison with others
- No success rates
- No promised outcomes
- No title without recognition
Every engagement is quoted after a free consultation. No subscription.
How we work
A title is granted, not adopted
DR. ERIK LAUWERS BV was created on 28 September 2009 and is registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under number 0819.130.554, with its registered office at 30 Ganzenweg in Wijnegem, province of Antwerp. Its registered activity is medical specialist activities.
Two things deserve stating on a page like this, since the rules on what a doctor may say publicly rule out most of the rest. The first is that a medical specialist title in Belgium is an official recognition granted by the federal authority after approved training. It is not a description a practitioner may adopt because it fits what they do, and using one without the recognition is prohibited. That is why the recognition appears on the legal page rather than as an adjective here. The second is financial and is the thing patients most often learn too late. For a hospital stay, fee supplements may not be charged in a two-bed room or a common room, and that prohibition applies whatever the treating doctor's own agreement status happens to be. In a single room, supplements may be charged within the limits the hospital applies. So what you ultimately pay is driven not only by which doctor treats you but by which room you accepted, and the consequences of that choice are set out in the admission declaration handed to you before admission. It is worth reading rather than signing. Alongside that, consent means being told purpose, risks, alternatives and cost beforehand, and a second opinion is a right this practice does not discourage.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
Can I be charged a supplement in a shared room?
No. Fee supplements may not be charged in a two-bed room or in a common room, and that prohibition applies regardless of whether the treating physician adheres to the national agreement with the sickness funds. It is one of the clearer rules in Belgian hospital billing and one of the least known. If a supplement appears on an invoice for a stay in a shared room, that is a question worth putting to the hospital.
So what changes in a single room?
Supplements may be charged, within the limits and the maximum percentages applied by the hospital concerned. That is the trade-off being presented when you are offered a single room, and it is frequently presented as a comfort decision rather than a financial one. Both are true at once, and the financial half is the part that appears later on an invoice.
Where do I find out before it happens?
In the admission declaration, which you receive and sign before admission. It sets out the financial conditions, including what the choice of room means. It is routinely treated as a formality among the paperwork at a stressful moment, and it is the single document in the process that determines a substantial part of what you will eventually be asked to pay. Read it rather than sign it.
What does a specialist title actually mean?
That the federal authority has granted a recognition following approved training in that discipline. It is not a self-description, and using a specialist title without the recognition is prohibited. The recognition held by this practice is stated on the legal page, and no title or sub-speciality beyond what is stated there is claimed on this site.
Can I ask for a second opinion?
Yes, and it is a right rather than a discourtesy. You are entitled to the free choice of practitioner and to seek a second opinion, and this practice does not discourage it. A practitioner who becomes uncomfortable when a patient raises the idea is communicating something useful. Where a second opinion would help, the record and the findings can be made available so the other clinician is not starting from nothing.
Why does this site not describe the conditions you treat?
Because what a doctor may say publicly excludes comparisons with other practitioners or hospitals, claims of superiority, patient testimonials, success rates and promises about outcomes. A page built from those would be both prohibited and untrue in the way advertising needs them to be. What belongs here is information you can act on, which is why room supplements and consent occupy the space instead.
Need to contact the practice?
Fees are stated in advance on request. In an emergency, contact the emergency services.