Call 155 for emergency services, but we should only call them in case of urgent health problems. That is, in cases of unconsciousness, respiratory arrest, shortness of breath, severe abdominal pain, acute bleeding or fractures.
But what are the rights of patients when they need, for example, an ordinary ambulance to a specialist in cases where they are medically unable to transport themselves? They certainly cannot and must not call it themselves. In these cases, the law specifies exactly how doctors should proceed.
If, based on the examination, the general practitioner sends the patient to a specialist and knows that the patient is not able to transport himself to the examination by the specialist, for example, he is immobile and has no one in the family to help him, he orders an ordinary transport ambulance for the patient himself.
If a specialist already has such a patient in his care, is treating him and invites him for a check-up, and knows that this patient is unable to transport himself to him due to health reasons, he is obliged by law to order an ordinary transport ambulance for the next check-up. Often, in these cases, patients mistakenly turn to their general practitioner again. But he no longer has the right to order an ambulance.
Communication between a general practitioner and a specialist
By law, the general practitioner and specialist doctor are obliged to prescribe drugs that the patient takes long-term in sufficient quantities, for the period until the next regular check-up, for the specific diagnosis for which he is being treated. The date of the check-up is set by the doctor himself. Depending on the situation and the severity of the disease, it can be a week, a month, or a quarter of a year.
If the patient has a problem coming to his doctor for a regular check-up for some serious reason, it is possible to obtain an e-prescription from the doctor by agreement, which will allow the patient to continue the treatment. Together, however, they will also agree on the nearest possible alternative inspection date.
Patients should always deliver the medical report from the specialist to their general practitioner as well, so that they are informed of what medicines their patient has been prescribed by the specialist. However, a general practitioner cannot issue medicines prescribed by a specialist. But he should be informed about them. In any case, the specialist is obliged by law to prepare the patient’s medical report for the general practitioner.
E-prescriptions are a great advantage in these situations
Thanks to electronic prescriptions, doctors are connected throughout the EU. It depends only on the doctor whether he prints the prescription in the doctor’s office and hands it to the patient. In any case, the medicine that the doctor prescribes is sent to a central repository by an electronic system.
According to the code on the printed prescription or according to the patient’s identity card, the pharmacist will then find the medicine in question. The doctor can send the e-prescription to the patient in the form of an SMS to a mobile phone or electronically to the patient’s e-mail address. The given prescription can then be used by the patient to pick up the medicine within the EU.
