If you need urgent medical assistance in Germany for a life-threatening condition or injury, you should always call 112. If the situation is not life-threatening but you still need urgent care and cannot wait until normal surgery opening hours, you should call 116 117 in order to reach a doctor on call.
Visiting a doctor on call might not always be possible or convenient for you. If this is the case, eHealth services – sometimes called e-doctors or telemedicine – are an excellent alternative. By speaking to a healthcare professional via a video call, you can obtain an initial diagnosis without leaving your home. What is more important, you avoid the risk of infection in doctors’ waiting rooms.
A video call with a doctor makes sense when you need:
For example: You had surgery and the doctor wants to see how the healing process is going so the doctor can get an impression of everything goes fine or that hospital is required.
Also good to know is that a doctor is usually able to issue a certificate of incapacity for work - which you need in order to get signed off from work. Only when you a signed off you can get sickness benefits.
When you do the video consultation with the doctor he will ask you questions about your health issues. After the appointment, the doctor will be able to provide prescriptions, which you can get directly at the pharmacy.
Most of the health insurers cover the costs. Still, the doctor needs to provide health insurance approval. Just to be sure you can always ask your health insurer.
As Germany’s first fully digital private health insurance provider, ottonova offers hassle-free access to a digital doc. The digital doc is a consultation with an online doctor in Germany.
Here’s how it works:
Using your tablet or smartphone camera, the online doctor will examine you visually and issue a prescription or sick note if appropriate. Of course, a digital consultation may not be enough to resolve your problem. However, following the outbreak of COVID-19, reducing the burden on face-to-face services and minimizing contact with others when you’re unwell is more important than ever.
If you need urgent out-of-hours medical care, you can call 116 117 from anywhere in Germany to reach the on-call medical service, which is called the Bereitschaftsdienst. An advisor will provide the details of a board-certified doctor on call near you and can arrange for a home visit if necessary.
This service is available to anyone with health insurance, whether private or public.
Of course! Through our ottonova Concierge Service we can book appointments for you. You just easily write us a message with your requirements, and we will find the best option for you.
As a private patient with ottonova you can go to any doctor of your choice. For dental treatments i.e implants or crowns (Zahnersatz) we provide a higher coverage if you choose a dentist from our ottonova network.
Under the private health insurance system, every family member needs their own individual policy, and the cost (premium) is calculated based on each person's health and age when they enroll. Because of this, children's premiums are typically quite affordable. To insure your children in private health insurance can have a lot of advantages. Read more in our article about private health insurance for families!
Yes, we do. In the first 48 months, you can only use your benefits up to a certain limit. Therefore, we want to prevent your premiums from being used to co-finance the treatment for customers who were already ill before they signed up for our insurance. However, should you have an accident, you will be able to claim the full benefits of your plan before the end of the waiting period
Get to know more about the digital private health insurance ottonova.
What do you have to pay for private health insurance in Germany? On what do costs depend on? Find all the information in our article!
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The German public health system offers a comprehensive safety net. However, private insurance offers an enhanced level of care and freedom of choice.
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