Sick Note House Call Berlin

The German sick certificate has two main forms. Patients with statutory insurance receive an electronic AU (eAU) that the doctor transmits to the health fund. Private patients and self-payers receive a paper private certificate to forward themselves to the employer.

Both forms are legally equivalent provided proper medical assessment has taken place. A sick note without physical examination is not permissible under section 25 of the German medical professional code and established case law – it violates medical due diligence.

RAB issues private certificates as standard. They are accepted by all Berlin employers, by international HR departments and by the majority of German companies without further question. eAU transmission to statutory insurers is not technically open to us.

Acute illness that makes a practice visit unreasonable is the classic indication. High fever with body aches, acute gastroenteritis with vomiting, severe bronchitis with cough and fatigue, acute migraine, debilitating lumbago – none of these conditions justify travelling to a Berlin practice, and some make it physically impossible.

Special situations follow: business travellers who fall ill in a Berlin hotel and need a certificate for their international HR department. International students who fall ill at weekends and miss a Charité placement. Self-employed professionals who fall acutely ill before an important engagement and need documented absence.

We consistently decline sick notes without medical basis. This clarity is part of our medical identity and protects doctor, patient and the profession.

The examination is always the same standard: full history, physical examination with auscultation, inspection, palpation, vital signs, rapid tests where indicated. Only after that clinical assessment do we decide whether work incapacity is medically justified and for how long.

Typical duration depends on the illness. A viral cold often warrants three to five days, true influenza seven to ten, acute gastroenteritis three to five, lumbago three to seven. We decide on clinical judgement and individual resilience, not patient preference.

You receive the certificate in writing – in German or English on request, with or without an ICD-10 diagnosis. Follow-up sick notes can be issued by phone or WhatsApp on +49 30 550 77 870 if the course is documented; for longer absences we re-examine.

Berlin employers – from corporates such as Zalando, Delivery Hero, BVG, Siemens, Vattenfall and BMW Berlin to authorities such as the Federal Press Office – regularly accept private certificates. International firms with Berlin hubs (Salesforce, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta) are used to private certificates and accept English-language documents.

Some HR departments ask back because they are used to eAU transmission. In those cases we provide a written explanation alongside the certificate on request. The legal recognition is clear: a medical certificate after physical examination meets the requirements of the German Continued Remuneration Act.

For self-employed patients or those with their own occupational insurance, the certificate also serves insurance purposes such as sickness benefit claims. We know the requirements of the major Berlin private insurers.

We do not issue certificates without examination. We do not issue certificates that retroactively cover longer periods than medically justifiable. We do not issue travel or sports exemptions contradicting real necessity. We do not issue certificates intended as evidence for legal or insurance claims without a complete diagnostic basis.

We do not confirm diagnoses unsupported by history and examination. We do not prescribe medication without medical indication, even on request. For psychiatric diagnoses such as depression or anxiety we refer to specialists in psychiatry and psychotherapy, since a sound diagnosis requires multiple appointments and psychotherapeutic assessment.

These boundaries are medical due diligence, not bureaucracy. They protect both the patient and the profession – and they are non-negotiable.