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You can only report sick if you suspect Corona
© WHAT
The option to report the illness by phone, which was introduced at the start of the corona pandemic, will only be available to people with symptoms of Covid 19 starting Tuesday. For all other sick people, it is no longer possible to get sick leave without visiting a doctor. However, the possibility of electronic transmission of prescriptions persists.
Telephone sickness reporting was introduced in mid-March to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection in medical practices. This variant is now being phased out for “normal” patients, people with corona symptoms can use it until the end of the year. If the crown numbers in Austria rise massively in autumn, the possibility could be extended to all affected for a limited time, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) said.
The fact that the measure was not extended in general faces a lack of understanding in the health sector. For patient lawyer Gerald Bachinger, expiration is “a completely wrong sign,” and Medical Association Vice President Johanes Steinhart fears a “bureaucratic mess.”
According to Steinhart, it would have been “the easiest thing” to leave the general option of reporting illness by phone. He fears bureaucratic chaos due to the commitment announced by the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) the day before the regulation expires. “The time for influenza is approaching, the time for Covid is approaching,” he said, emphasizing that the doctor could not identify the symptoms of individual illnesses over the phone.
“This solution causes even more misunderstandings and even more chaos,” said patient advocate Bachinger. Differentiation over the phone is difficult. “That means either all cases are suspected or the telephone sickness notification is no longer used at all,” he painted two scenarios on the wall. The shared solution “won’t work,” he predicted.
In principle, Bachinger does not understand why one recovers something that worked well and was well received by patients. For the fall expect “massive complaints” from the side of patients, he said in an interview with the APA. Despite all the challenges from the crown, the crisis would have had a benefit in some areas, such as promoting disease reports over the phone, he said.
According to Bachinger, a general continuation failed due to resistance from employer representatives at ÖGK, who feared misuse. According to the patient attorney, “there are no signs,” he said. The number of sick leave reports has dropped dramatically recently, and even if there are individual cases of abuse, one “doesn’t have to shut down the whole plant.” Instead, control mechanisms should be created, Bachinger and Steinhart suggested in unison.
For this week a conversation is scheduled between patient advocates and ÖGK representatives in the Ministry of Health with Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens). Bachinger announced that he would vehemently advocate for a blanket extension of telephone sick leave.
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