HGNC instead of OMIM - Billing for genetic services from 2025: What laboratories need to know now
From 1 July 2025, a key change in the billing of genetic diagnostics will come into force:
In future, the internationally standardized HGNC gene symbols must be used instead of the OMIM codes used to date.
For laboratories, genetic specialists and medical care centers, this means:
Technical and structural adjustments are necessary in order to be able to continue billing correctly.
❗ Why is this relevant for you?
If you bill for codes that require gene codes, you must enter the new HGNC gene symbols in your code links in good time for the start of Q3 2025.
At the same time, you should check whether your billing regulations (LUA) need to be updated if OMIM codes are still processed in them.
These changes not only affect your data maintenance, but also the correctness of your health insurance billing and the transfer of relevant information to connected systems.
🧬 Why this change?
Until now, billing for genetic tests has often been based on OMIM codes, but these are not uniformly structured and are not interoperable with modern health data standards.
The aim of the changeover to HGNC symbols (Human Gene Nomenclature Committee) is:
- a uniform, internationally recognized genre reference
- better machine-readable processing
- and more transparency in billing
🔍 What does this mean for your practice or laboratory?
The changeover is more than just a code swap. It affects the following areas of our software:
- HGNC gene symbols replace OMIM-G codes in the billing of genetic services
- OMIM-P codes are omitted and replaced by a new free text field "Type of disease"
- In i/med Billing: New fields per digit - with full editability
- In i/med Admin / ZSV module: Maintenance of HGNC gene symbols possible for each digit linkage
- Several HGNC codes per digit (e.g. GOP 11513, 19424) can be stored
- New billing rules with LUA functions are available
- Adaptation of your existing LUA rules may be necessary if OMIM codes were previously processed there
✅ Checklist: What you should check now
These points will help you to create clarity at an early stage:
- Which genetic services do you currently bill?
- Which OMIM codes are in use - and which HGNC symbols would be relevant?
- Are your IT systems (ZSV, billing, communication) prepared for the changeover?
- Is a 1:n allocation necessary for your panels?
- Do you need support with rule definition (e.g. LUA, HL7)?
- Who is responsible for implementation internally - IT, laboratory management, billing?
- When would you like to carry out the technical adjustment?
💡 Our offer: Technical support & advice
The regular KVDT quarterly update will be provided by us as usual at the end of June 2025 and already contains the technical basis for the changeover.
For a smooth and complete changeover, we also recommend that you
- an update of your i/med billing module to use the new fields
- an update of your ZSV linkage, if gene codes are maintained there
- an adjustment to your billing set of rules (LUA) if OMIM codes are currently set there
🧠 Background: Why HGNC - and what does it mean in everyday life?
The decision to use HGNC gene symbols is part of a larger trend towards standardization of medical data - especially in the field of personalized medicine and digital healthcare. HGNC symbols are globally recognized, unique and enable better comparability of genetic findings across laboratories and countries.
While OMIM codes are primarily phenotypically oriented and focused on genetic syndromes, HGNC codes represent a systematic, structured naming of individual genes - independent of the clinical context.
In practice, this means: more precise billing, better automation and more interoperability with electronic patient records, HL7 systems or molecular genetic documentation.
For laboratories and practices, this changeover represents a challenge - but also an opportunity to modernize existing processes.
🔗 Further information:
- HGNC Gene Nomenclature - official website
The HGNC database provides standardized, globally recognized gene symbols for human genes. It serves as a central reference for medical documentation, research and billing. - OMIM vs. HGNC: Differences and areas of application (NCBI background article)
This technical article explains the structural and functional differences between OMIM and HGNC encodings. It shows why HGNC is the more interoperable solution for many applications. - KBV - Guideline for the billing of genetic services (status 2024)
The KBV website provides information on current requirements for the billing of genetic services. Among other things, it contains information on the use of gene codes and new billing codes.
📞 Act now - July 1, 2025 is coming sooner than expected
To ensure that your systems are converted in good time and billing continues to run smoothly, we recommend early coordination with our sales team.
➡️ Contact us directly for a personalized offer:
