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German doctors want to grant sick leave by phone amid Covid wave

The Local Germany
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German doctors want to grant sick leave by phone amid Covid wave
A person with a mild illness lies on the sofa. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Christin Klose

German GPs say they are in favour of bringing back the special regulation for granting sick leave to patients over the phone due to the high number of people with respiratory infections.

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Earlier in the pandemic, German authorities changed the law so that people with a mild upper respiratory tract illness, such as the common cold, were able to get their sick note to stay off work by simply calling and speaking to their GP.

But the rule was reversed on June 1st. Since then people have had to go back to the practice - or do a video call - to get an incapacity to work certificate or AU-Bescheinigung, often shorted to AU in Germany.

Germany's GPs are now calling for a return to the option of handing out sick notes following a telephone consultation.

In view of the high number of colds and Covid infections circulating, the chairman of the German GP Association, Ulrich Weigeldt, said: "The telephone AU would provide real relief."

READ ALSO: Germany sees spike in respiratory infections over summer

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"A personal consultation with the family doctor is not always absolutely necessary, for example, in the case of a simple flu infection or a mild course of corona."

When a patient has a mild respiratory infection or Covid, Weigeldt said it would be better for GPs to be able to grant sick leave for a few days after a phone call with the patient. He said abuse of this system is very rare because family doctors and patients have usually known each other for some time.

"Instead, patients are now again forced to drag themselves sick to the doctor's office without this being medically absolutely necessary," he said.

According to the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the special regulation for granting sick leave by phone could return to Germany. 

READ ALSO: Sick leave granted by phone ends in Germany

The committee is the body that includes representatives of the medical profession, health insurance organisations and hospitals. It decides on the services of the statutory health insurance organisations and on rules such as those for sick leave.

In spring of this year, the committee discussed whether it was "right to let the previous special regulations for sick leave by telephone expire at the end of May 2022", a spokeswoman told DPA.

At the time, all G-BA members and therefore also the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung), representing the medical profession, had agreed that these rules could be withdrawn because of the calmer pandemic situation.

However, the spokeswoman said that if the pandemic gains "strong momentum", the Federal Joint Committee could "reactivate" the special regulation.

READ ALSO: The 10 rules you need to know if you get sick in Germany

This could happen in certain regions or - if needed - nationwide. 

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), there is currently a strong increase in Covid infections across Germany. Furthermore, data from doctors and pharmacists show that there is an unusually high number of other respiratory infections for the time of year.

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The 7-day incidence of Covid infections in Germany stood at 702.4 infections per 100,000 people on Tuesday. Germany reported 154,729 new Covid infections and 165 deaths within the latest 24 hour period.

However, experts say many Covid infections go unreported. 

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