The Ministry of Health banned directing patients to doctors for e-Sick Leave: who is now handling it

The medical documents are created by the doctor who is treating you

The Ministry of Health explained that the main medical documents are created directly by the treating physician without the need for additional referrals or directions.

According to the Ministry of Health, directing a patient to a family doctor solely for the purpose of obtaining a medical certificate of temporary disability (for e-Sick Leave) or e-Referral is a violation of regulatory legal requirements.

What is stored in the EHR?

According to the current legislation, medical institutions (both state, communal, and private) are required to maintain all primary documents related to the process of treatment and service provision.

• medical certificates for birth and temporary disability (for e-Sick Leaves);
• e-Prescriptions for medications and medical products;
• medical records of your visits;
• referrals for examinations, treatment or consultations;
• results of rehabilitation examinations.

Medical certificate of temporary disability (MCTD)

The medical certificate of temporary disability (for e-Sick Leave) is created by your treating physician after examination and confirmation of the fact of temporary loss of work capacity. Redirecting to a family doctor solely for the purpose of obtaining such a document is unnecessary bureaucracy and does not comply with legislative requirements.

Electronic referrals

The e-Referral is created by the doctor who provides you with assistance and has decided on the referral. It is also mandatory for the initiating doctor to enter data into the EHR.

To receive services under the e-Referral:

• you need to inform the medical institution staff about the referral number;
• check the status of the referral in the EHR and notify about the possibility to receive services under the Medical Guarantee Program;
• coordinate the choice of doctor, date, and time when you can receive the services.

It is important that for the provision of services under the e-Referral, requiring a paper copy of the document is not permitted.

It was explained that doctors must create the main medical documents directly, without directing patients to other doctors for this purpose. All these documents must be stored in the EHR for further use and access.