From the perspective of statutory health insurance companies, the procedure with mandatory electronic sickness notifications for the job will be established in 2023. In the first year of regular operation, employers retrieved almost 82 million e-certificates of incapacity for work for their employees, as the National Association of Health Insurance Funds in Berlin announced.
Based on data for January to November, there were an average of 6.8 million per month – the most e-sickness reports were accessed in November with 9.1 million.
The number of sick reports was exceeded
The electronic process also records sickness reports more completely than was previously possible and thus creates a more realistic view of sick leave, the association explained. In general, it was previously assumed that there would be 70 million to 80 million certificates per year. This number has now been exceeded in the first year of the e-procedure. The total for 2023 now forms the starting point for more precise comparisons and evaluations in future years.
Association boss Doris Pfeiffer said the e-sickness notification works. “The fact that the application has become established across the board is a big step for the digitalization of the healthcare system.” The procedure stipulates that doctors also send sickness reports directly to the patients’ health insurance companies – according to the information, there were an average of 9.5 million per month. The health insurance association said there could be various reasons why practices issue more certificates than employers request. It can be assumed that some companies still require a paper sick note.
