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Rescue services
Service Description
The rescue service is a public health care and emergency response service.
The rescue service has the task of providing the population with medical services in line with demand and across the board and includes emergency rescue and (qualified) patient transportation both on the ground and in the air.
Emergency rescue
Emergency rescue involves carrying out life-saving measures or measures to prevent serious damage to the health of emergency patients at the scene of an accident. The aim is to make the patient fit for transportation and to transport them to a suitable treatment facility for further care under professional care in rescue vehicles equipped for this purpose.
Patient transportation
The(qualified) patient transport includes the transportation of other sick, injured or needy persons who, according to medical assessment, require professional medical care or a specially equipped rescue vehicle during transportation or for whom this is to be expected due to their condition.
Air rescue
Air rescue comprises the rescue service with aircraft (rescue transport helicopter - RTH and intensive care transport helicopter - ITH). It supplements/supports the ground-based rescue service and includes
- primary air rescue (emergency or first aid treatment at the scene, making the emergency patient fit for transportation and transport to the nearest suitable hospital),
- secondary rescue (transportation of medically treated patients from a hospital to a more suitable hospital for further treatment).
A (simple) ambulance service is any other transportation of a sick person, e.g. by cab.
It is not part of the rescue service!
Who should I contact?
Rescue trips are to be requested from the control center of the district or city under the uniform emergency number 112. Ambulance transports in urgent cases are also requested from the rescue control center.
For other, non-urgent ambulance transports or ambulance rides, please contact your doctor. Your doctor will issue you with a corresponding prescription, regardless of the means of transportation you choose.
To issue a prescription for transportation by ambulance, patient transport or rescue services, please contact your doctor. He or she will issue you with a prescription in accordance with the currently valid Patient Transportation Directive of the Joint Federal Committee. This guideline in accordance with Section 92 Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 Number 12 SGB V regulates the prescription of ambulance journeys, patient transportation and rescue journeys in accordance with Section 73 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1 Number 7 SGB V.
For an ambulance ride or ambulance transport to outpatient treatment, the approval of your health insurance fund is generally also required. Prescriptions requiring approval must be submitted to the health insurance fund in good time. The duration and scope (e.g. means of transport, outward and return journey) of the authorization are determined by the health insurance fund.
The following exceptions apply:
- Trips to pre- or post-inpatient treatment in accordance with § 115a SGB V or to outpatient surgery in accordance with § 115b SGB V are exempt from the authorization requirement. In addition, patient transportation to inpatient services does not require approval from the health insurance fund.
- Approval is deemed to have been granted for the following patient journeys in accordance with Section 60 (1) sentence 5 SGB V, meaning that no express approval from the health insurance fund is required:
Patient journeys for outpatient treatment for insured persons who present a severely disabled person's pass with the "aG", "Bl" or "H" mark or a classification notice in accordance with SGB XI in care grade 3, 4 or 5 at the time of prescription and who require transportation if classified in care grade 3 due to permanent impairment of their mobility (also fulfilled for insured persons who were classified in care grade 2 until December 31, 2016 and have been classified in at least care grade 3 since January 1, 2017).
- Spatially limited and temporary special regulations in connection with the COVID-19 epidemic:
In light of the challenges of managing the epidemic outbreak due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Federal Joint Committee may, by separate resolution based on Section 9 (2a) of its Rules of Procedure, allow the following spatially limited and temporary exceptions to the provisions of the Patient Transport Directive if, depending on the nature of the outbreak, they are necessary and required to contain and manage the infections or to protect healthcare facilities from overload:
1. prior authorization from the health insurance fund is not required for ambulance journeys for urgently needed outpatient treatment that cannot be postponed for people who are demonstrably ill with COVID-19 or insured persons who are in quarantine due to an official order.
2. prescriptions for patient transportation and patient journeys can also be issued after a medical history has been taken by telephone and sent by post by the panel doctor to an insured person known to the doctor's practice, provided that the prescribing panel doctor has ascertained the insured person's condition by means of a detailed telephone interview.
These exemptions apply if the prescription was issued by a panel doctor based in one of the areas defined by a separate exemption resolution of the Federal Joint Committee or if the insured person's place of residence is within one of these areas. If and as long as the German Bundestag has determined an epidemic situation of national significance in accordance with Section 5 (1) of the Infection Protection Act, the exemption rule under 1. applies nationwide.
In cases of doubt, it is recommended that you clarify with your health insurance fund whether one of the exceptions applies to your specific case.
Which documents are required?
You need a doctor's prescription for transportation by ambulance to be able to settle accounts with the statutory health insurance funds. Your doctor will issue you with a corresponding prescription for trips by ambulance, patient transport or rescue services, regardless of the means of transportation you choose.
The prescription should be issued prior to transportation. Only in exceptional cases, particularly in emergencies, can transportation be ordered retrospectively. An emergency exists if the patient's life is in danger or serious damage to health is to be feared if the necessary medical care is not provided immediately. In the event of an emergency rescue, the prescription can also be issued by the emergency doctor or replaced by a confirmation of transportation from the hospital.
What are the fees?
In accordance with the provisions of the Fifth Book of the German Social Security Code (SGB V), the health insurance fund will cover the costs of emergency medical care, ambulance travel to hospital and ambulance transport required for compelling medical reasons (with the exception of the co-payment in accordance with § 61 SGB V amounting to a maximum of EUR 10.00, but within the limits set by your burden limit in accordance with § 62 SGB V).
The co-payment according to § 61 sentence 1 SGB V is generally ten percent of the costs per trip - at least 5 euros and at most 10 euros, but not more than the cost of the trip. Only insured persons whose co-payments have exceeded the limit according to § 62 SGB V are exempt on presentation of a corresponding certificate.
The health insurance fund will pay the travel costs for an ambulance, patient transportation or an ambulance journey that is necessary in connection with a service provided by the health insurance fund for compelling medical reasons in the case of
- Services that are provided on an inpatient basis,
- Rescue journeys to hospital even without inpatient treatment,
- ambulance transportation with specialist care required for medical reasons or in an ambulance,
- journeys to outpatient treatment and journeys to pre- or post-inpatient treatment or an outpatient operation in hospital, if this avoids or shortens inpatient or day-care hospital treatment that would otherwise be necessary.
In case of doubt, you will have to pay for transportation to outpatient treatment yourself if you arrange this without consulting your health insurance fund. Therefore, please clarify with your health insurance company beforehand whether and to what extent it will cover the costs. If you are currently receiving benefits from a social welfare provider, it is also worth asking them.
Legal basis
Author
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
Technically approved by
Thuringian Ministry of the Interior and Municipal Affairs
Professionally released on
14.12.2020
Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6Plus)
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