Berlin
The previous special rule for sick leave by telephone ended on March 31, 2023. What patients have to consider from April 1.
- At the peak of the corona pandemic, sick leave was introduced as a special rule
- However, on March 31, 2023, the deadline for reporting sick by telephone ended
- What patients have to consider from April and in which cases it is still possible to report sick without being in the practice
So far, you could – without visiting a doctor’s office – with mild cold symptoms write sick by phone permit. The rule is now expiring and only applies until this Friday (March 31). The telephone sick note is one special rulewhich was introduced during the Corona crisis by the joint federal committee of doctors, clinics and health insurance companies.
The sick leave by telephone fulfilled its function during the pandemic, according to the chairman of the federal committee, Josef Hecken, to the German press agency (dpa). The telephone sick note Hecken said it was an easy way to differentiate between mild and severe cases of illness and to avoid full waiting rooms. Since end of March 2020 the special rule had been in effect almost continuously.
Sick leave is no longer available by phone: That’s why
Why does the rule end after two years? The purpose of the telephone sick note was to reduce unnecessary contacts and corona infections to avoid. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) downgraded the corona risk from “high” to “moderate” at the beginning of February – so the special rule should now apply leak. However, Hecken assured: You keep an eye on the rule and can quickly reactivate it if necessary.
He is glad that the special regulation took into account both protection against corona infection and access to care. However, Hecken also acknowledged that the committee Spring 2020 acted too optimistically by temporarily lifting the rule due to the falling number of cases.
Sick leave: This is how it continues to work without a visit to the practice
“Regardless of the pandemic situation, insured persons can also take sick leave with a video consultation received – not only in the case of mild respiratory diseases,” explained Hecken. “So that means that there is already the regular possibility that an insured person does not go to the hospital for every illness doctor’s office must go.” The prerequisite is that one can be declared unfit for work without a physical examination.
In principle, almost all practices can offer video consultations. You can usually find out whether your practice is included on the website or by calling. If it Term online and you were able to arrange one, you will usually receive an appointment from your practice with access data for the office hours. You can then use these to dial in to the appointment via a computer or mobile device. (emi/dpa)
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