The new medical emergency 116 117 for the family doctor

New nationwide emergency number for the family doctor in the evening and on weekends: 116-117

14/04/2012

An emergency number for all cases. What has been going on for years with the police and medical emergencies has not been guaranteed in relation to emergency medical services until recently. There was no Germany-wide uniform telephone number. From Monday, the German emergency number 116-117 applies.

From 16 April, this will change and from then on, if needed for a doctor nationwide free of charge on the phone number 116-117 a doctor on call will be contacted. The new uniform emergency call for the family doctor puts an end to the hitherto confusion with innumerable different numbers. This is a real relief especially for seniors and mentally impaired people - they only have to remember one number.

Doctors also reach outside the office opening hours
The new emergency number is intended for all cases in which patients would normally visit a GP, but the practices are already closed. Among the 116 117 sufferers reach from Monday at any time a doctor in readiness. Even so far, patients outside the practice opening hours could already contact the emergency medical service, but not under a single telephone number. This has sometimes caused some confusion, so that many concerned prefer straight to the emergency number 112, which is actually intended only for acute emergencies such as a heart attack, stroke, acute abdominal pain or accidents with serious injuries. In the case of conditions such as high fever, stomach cramps or diarrhea, a doctor should be contacted for the time being.

In case of emergency call emergency medical service
In the future, patients under the single telephone number without area code 116 117 outside the office hours (eg in the evening or on weekends) can contact medical help, said the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians on Tuesday in Berlin. The callers are automatically forwarded to the nearest doctor on standby. If we organize the medical on-call service of the Kassenärztlichen associations together with the resident physicians, however, is by no means on par with the rescue service. In acute emergencies, therefore, the 112 continues to be the right number. As reported by the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung, the changeover costs for the establishment of the new telephone number are between three and five million euros, whereby the costs are borne by the statutory health insurance funds.

New medical emergency number simplifies contact to the on-call service
In order to avoid that patients select the previously valid numbers and reach anyone there, the old telephone number should be retained for some time and only with the time completely replaced by the new emergency number 116 117. Also, the new emergency number does not start in all federal states at the same time but will be available for example in Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, the Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate only some time later. Overall, it will „With the 116-117 it is much easier for the citizens to receive outpatient medical help when the practices have closed ", emphasized the Federal Government Commissioner for Patients Wolfgang Zöller (CSU) .The model should also cover the entire European Union (EU). For this reason, the number 116 117 was already reserved throughout Europe in 2009. (fp)

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