The RKI reports around 25,000 corona infected people every day and the flu season is slowly starting. Against this background, it should also be possible beyond November to get sick leave over the phone. The joint federal committee of doctors, health insurance companies and clinics decided on Thursday to extend the exemption until the end of March 2023.
In the case of mild respiratory diseases, insured persons can still obtain a certificate of incapacity for work for up to seven days. It is also possible to extend the sick leave by a further seven days once.
According to the Federal Joint Committee, it is difficult to predict how the number of cases of Corona and the situation in the hospitals will develop. “To make matters worse, we are facing the cold and flu season,” said Chairman Josef Hecken. The telephone sick note protects patients and the practice staff.
Hecken pointed above all to chronically ill people. These went more frequently to doctor’s surgeries and had to be protected against avoidable infections. With sick leave over the phone, practices still have an easy-to-implement option to separate mild and severe cases of illness and to avoid full waiting rooms.