Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
In this section we answer frequently asked questions about our practice. From general procedures to rehabilitation and much more – our FAQs provide you with quick answers. If you have any further individual questions, we will be happy to assist you in person at the practice.
You can also find helpful information, links and contacts on medical topics in our information center.
(The information center is currently only available in German.)
Practice and processes
Do I always need an appointment?
Yes, please always make an appointment if possible.
The easiest way is online, otherwise by phone.
Please cancel appointments that you cannot keep as soon as possible (you are welcome to cancel by email).
Can I see the same doctor in the practice every time?
Yes, we always try to schedule your check-ups and appointments with the same doctor at our practice. This is your “primary doctor”. He or she knows and accompanies you and your children as they grow up.
You can also arrange or book acute appointments with your doctor.
However, since not all doctors are in the practice at all times, it may be necessary to switch to one of the other doctors in the practice occasionally.
When is the practice closed?
All doctors cover for each other during vacations and medical seminar programmes. This enables us to offer you year-round care in our premises without extended periods of closure or vacation. Exceptions are public holidays and individual “bridge days”.
What should I bring to my doctor's appointment?
Please always bring your child’s chip card, yellow booklet (“U-Heft”), vaccination card and a cotton cloth.
If you have been treated by other doctors (e.g. emergency services, specialists), please bring the relevant medical reports with you.
Is there a waiting room for healthy children?
Yes. We have a large waiting room for acutely ill children. In addition, there is a second waiting room for babies, children and adolescents without current infections, which you can use, for example, for vaccination or preventive care appointments.
Do you accept new children and adolescents?
Yes. If you are expecting a baby or have recently moved to Jena and are looking for a pediatrician, please feel free to contact us. We will arrange an appointment for an initial consultation or the first U-examination with you.
We ask expectant parents to register their baby with us about one month before the due date.
Can my child come to the practice with grandma/grandpa/friends?
Yes. Please provide the accompanying adult with a signed power of attorney for the visit to our practice.
Can my adolescent child come to the practice alone?
Yes. Normally, young people aged 14 and above may come to the practice alone.
I will soon turn 18. Am I allowed to come to the practice after my 18th birthday?
Yes. Thanks to a new regulation, we can now continue to treat young adults up to the age of 21.
U-examinations
Why have I stopped getting invitations to the preventive medical check-up (U-examination)?
Since January 2024, invitations to the U-examinations are no longer sent out throughout Thuringia. Accordingly, proof of participation in the U-examinations no longer needs to be provided. To ensure that the examinations are not forgotten, we offer you an appointment reminder by email.
When do I have to present my child for the U-examination?
You can find an overview of the planned U-examinations on the front page of the yellow booklet. You can also calculate the corresponding dates online, e.g. on the website of the Federal Center for Health Education:
Appointment calculator for the U1–U9 examinations | kindergesundheit-info.de
Please make an appointment for the preventive medical check-ups as soon as possible (if possible at least 4 months in advance).
What are the additional preventive medical checkups and when are they offered?
In addition to the regular U-examinations U1-U9 and J1, most health insurance companies offer U10 (7th-8th year of life) and U11 (9th-10th year of life) as well as J2 (16th-17th year of life). Please feel free to contact us if you are interested or find out more through your health insurance company.
Prescriptions/referrals
How can I request a prescription/referral to a specialist?
If it is a long-term medication that your child has been taking for a long time or a referral to a specialist that your child visits regularly, simply send us an email.
You will then receive a message when the documents are ready for collection.
Every first prescription of medication or first referral to a specialist is preceded by a medical consultation and/or examination. The same applies if your child has not been to our practice for a long time. In these cases, an appointment is required.
How does the new e-prescription "eRezept" work?
Since January 2024, for all non-private German health insurances, prescription drugs have been prescribed as e-prescriptions (so called “eRezept”). We transmit the prescription data to a secure central server that all pharmacies can access. You will no longer receive a pink prescription form, but will go to the pharmacy with your child’s insurance card. After the pharmacy has scanned the insurance card, it can retrieve the prescription and dispense the medication to you. Alternatively, it can be dispensed using a QR code or app.
Certain prescriptions (private prescriptions, green prescriptions, aids, etc.) will continue to be available in paper form. Please note that even with e-prescriptions, we require a brief introduction of you or your child in the practice once a quarter (including the child’s insurance card).
Can I get a prescription for a medication that I have already bought (e.g. anti-lice treatment)?
No, because under social law, prescription redemption is linked to the delivery of the drug and the drug supply contracts do not provide for subsequent reimbursement.
This means that we cannot issue prescriptions for over-the-counter drugs, even if they are generally covered by insurances and are reimbursable under other circumstances (e.g. fever syrup, lice treatment).
Child sickness certificate ("Kind-Krank-Schein")
What do I do with the child sickness certificate?
With the help of the child sickness certificate, you can apply for child sick pay from your statutory health insurance company. The parent who looks after the child during the sick days is entitled to this. To do this, you fill out the child sickness certifacte (in German Kind-Krank-Schein or officially “Ärztliche Bescheinigung für den Bezug von Krankengeld bei Erkrankung eines Kindes” – medical certificate for child sick pay) with your personal bank account details and send it to the health insurance company (by mail or digitally or via an app).
The employer receives a copy of the child sickness certificate. You can find more information at the Federal Ministry of Health and at your health insurance company.
Can the child's sickness certificate also be transmitted electronically?
No, the child sickness certificate cannot yet be transmitted electronically, as is the case with the certificates of incapacity for work for adults.
Is it possible to get a sickness certificate for children by phone?
Since the end of 2023, it has been possible to call in sick by phone for up to five calendar days in the case of mild respiratory illnesses in children. Please contact us – also by email – if you think this applies to your child. We will then get back to you.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to call in sick by phone for more serious or longer-lasting symptoms (e.g. high fever).
If you only need a child sickness certificate for your child, but do not necessarily want a medical examination, there is the option, for mild symptoms of illnesses other than respiratory diseases (e.g. gastrointestinal infections, etc.), of picking up child sickness certificates together with your child without an appointment. Please feel free to request these in advance by email and we will prepare them for you.
How many child sick days do I have per year?
In Germany, each parent is entitled to 15 working days of child sick pay per child per calendar year; single parents are entitled to 20 days per child. The total number of days per year (for more than two children) is 35 days, for single parents 70 days. These regulations apply for 2024 and 2025. In previous years, due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was a higher entitlement to child sick days, but this has now expired.
School and daycare
Can I get a certificate for daycare admission in the practice?
Yes. Most daycare centers have forms for this and require that the certificate be no older than two weeks at the first day of daycare. Please feel free to make an appointment for this. Please note that daycare certificates are not covered by statutory health insurance and you will have to pay for them yourself.
Does my child need a "recovery certificate" for daycare/school?
A medical certificate of recovery for daycare and school is generally not required. This applies in particular to colds or conjunctivitis. There are only very few illnesses that require a medical certificate of recovery due to their high infectiousness and/or a possible severe course. These are clearly regulated in the German infectious diseases law.
Can I excuse my child from school myself? For how long?
Yes. According to the Thuringian School Regulations, parents may and should excuse their children themselves, as Section 5, Paragraph 2 states. The school can only demand a medical certificate in the case of longer illnesses (more than 10 school days) or if there is an accumulation of absences or inconsistencies. If you require a medical certificate, your child must visit the doctor’s office in person.
Speech therapy/occupational therapy/physical therapy
The daycare center/school recommends speech therapy or occupational therapy. Can I get a prescription for that?
Not every deviation from the norm is an illness or requires therapy.
A prescription for speech therapy or occupational therapy can only be made by a doctor after an appropriate diagnosis. We will discuss the diagnosis and therapy for your child individually with you at an appointment.
Do I have to present my child every time for a prescription for speech therapy, occupational therapy or physiotherapy?
Yes. We talk to you and your child every time therapy is prescribed and get a picture of the corresponding progress.
Rehabilitation
Can I go on a mother-child/father-child cure?
Sick mothers and fathers, or those whose health is at risk, are entitled to preventive or rehabilitative care. Your family doctor will check whether you, as an adult, meet the criteria for a health cure or rehabilitation. These include chronic illnesses or extreme parental stress or severe symptoms of exhaustion.
Children up to 12 years of age can either travel as healthy companions or, under certain circumstances, also participate in the treatments. For healthy accompanying children, your family doctor will take care of all the formalities. If you would like your child to receive treatment, please contact us to process the relevant forms.
Can my child undergo rehabilitation?
During a child’s rehabilitation, the child is the main focus. This rehabilitation is only possible for specific and serious chronic illnesses such as diabetes mellitus or bronchial asthma.
The application can be made through the health insurance or the pension insurance. We will advise you on this and support you if needed.