Health: Sick leave is possible again by telephone

Under certain conditions, patients will in future be able to receive a sick note from their doctor’s office by telephone. The regulation applies immediately, as the Joint Federal Committee of doctors, health insurance companies and clinics based in Berlin announced on Thursday.

According to the information, the regulation applies to patients who are known to the respective doctor’s practice and who do not have any severe symptoms. The prerequisite is that video consultations are not possible. The doctors can then issue a certificate of incapacity for work for a maximum of five days. The telephone sick note is intended to relieve the practice teams and reduce the risk of infection in the waiting rooms.

Criticism from the employers’ association

During the Corona crisis there was already a special regulation for sick leave over the telephone that had been extended several times. It expired in the spring. With the new resolution, the regulation will be permanently anchored. In the summer, the Federal Joint Committee was commissioned by law by the traffic light coalition to establish appropriate regulations for sick leave over the telephone.

The Federal Association of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) assesses the possibility of taking sick leave over the telephone as a “failure of health policy”. “This devalues ​​the quality of a sick note, even though it is the basis for continued payment of wages. This will also have a negative impact on company peace, as an examination in a practice was always the basis for a reliable diagnosis,” said BDA general manager Steffen Kampeter on Thursday. “In the most expensive healthcare system in the world, sick notes should be made by telephone because politicians have neglected family doctor care for years.”