Hospitalisation

As general doctors, we are obliged to exhaust all outpatient options before a hospital admission is issued.

Furthermore, hospital admissions are issued by the respective attending physician. If, for example, the orthopaedist has recommended the operation, he must also issue the referral. If, on the other hand, the indication for inpatient treatment is made in our practice, then you will receive the referral from us.

Preliminary examination before hospital admission

Many hospitals do their own preliminary examinations. Sometimes, however, the clinic also requests a preliminary examination (usually laboratory and ECG) by us. However, this is only possible if the actual operation is also performed on an outpatient basis. In this case, please bring us the letter from the clinic stating which examinations are desired. Unfortunately, we cannot carry out any preliminary examinations without this proof. A consultation in the doctor’s office is also mandatory for this preliminary examination. Please make an appointment. All other examinations must be performed by the clinic during a so-called pre-stationary stay.

Aftercare following surgical operations

In principle, all surgeons are obliged to carry out the aftercare (changing dressings, removing stitches, etc.) themselves. Should the surgeon wish to hand over these tasks to us (again, this is only possible for operations performed on an outpatient basis, otherwise the clinic should arrange a post-inpatient appointment with you), he or she must issue a referral containing the date of the operation and the operation key. Without this referral, we will not be paid for the follow-up treatment by the German public health insurance companies and will have to refer you to the clinic again in this case.

In the case of inpatient operations, the hospital is obliged to provide aftercare (including stitching and removal of staples) for up to three weeks after discharge.

Referral to other medical specialties

As general doctors, we have to carefully examine the indication for referral to other specialist groups. If you have a chronic illness that requires regular specialist examinations, this referral can be pre-ordered, stating the illness (e.g. diabetes mellitus, renal insufficiency requiring dialysis, …). In all other cases, prior contact with a doctor in our practice is necessary.

For preventive examinations (gynaecologist, colonoscopy, etc.) you may also visit these doctors without a referral. In order to be referred to doctors who do not carry out statutory preventive medical examinations, a diagnosis requiring clarification must be presented.

As a rule, we do not issue referrals to anaesthetists, as this must be done by the surgeon who needs the anaesthetist for his intervention.