Statutory health insurance physicians in favor of a return to sick leave by telephone
Berlin's statutory health insurance physicians are in favor of a permanent introduction of telephone sick notes in the near future. According to an RBB report, the head of the Berlin Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Burkhard Ruppert, justified the demand with the increasing number of infections in recent weeks. The surgeries would have considerably more to do. Therefore, an immediate return to the telephone regulation makes sense - "and not in many weeks", the broadcaster quotes Ruppert. A KV spokeswoman confirmed the report on Monday. A special coronavirus regulation on sick notes without a personal visit to the practice expired in spring.
A law passed by the Bundestag in the summer by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also stipulates that sick notes by telephone should be permanently possible. However, the prerequisite should be that the illness does not involve severe symptoms and that the doctor is already familiar with the patient from previous treatments. The exact regulations are to be drawn up by the Joint Federal Committee of doctors, health insurance companies and clinics. Citing the Federal Ministry of Health, RBB has now reported that the Federal Joint Committee will work on the legal mandate "with the aim of passing a resolution before the end of December 2023".
The Robert Koch Institute has been recording relatively high rates of acute respiratory illnesses and a growing number of laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections in Germany for several weeks now. The flu epidemic is still to come.
Doctors advocating for statutory health insurance physicians believe that the permanent use of telephone sick notes is necessary due to the rising number of infections, which would overburden surgeries. According to RBB, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach's summer law allows for sick notes by telephone, as long as the illness is not severe and the doctor is already familiar with the patient.
Source: www.dpa.com
