You're probably familiar with the situation: you're stuck on hold for several minutes and when you finally get through, the receiver is put aside with the words "one moment, please". Fortunately, that was yesterday. Today, you can make a doctor's appointment online, check the proposed times against your calendar at your leisure and change the appointment with a click if something comes up.
Digital appointment scheduling is the new everyday hack
So the next time you want to make an appointment with your GP, a specialist or a time slot for your next travel vaccination, it's better to resist the impulse to pick up the phone. Many medical practices now prefer online appointment management because making appointments over the phone takes a lot of time.
If you are already a patient at the doctor's practice, it is best to go to the practice website first and see if there is an appointment management tool there. The tool will probably ask you a few questions to find out how urgent your health issue is. You select one of the suggested appointments and enter your name, date of birth and your preferred contact method such as e-mail address or mobile phone number. You will then receive an appointment confirmation and one or two reminders shortly before the appointment. As a rule, you can even choose whether you would like to be reminded by e-mail or text message.
In the case of new patients, the doctor's practice may still prefer to contact you by telephone to make an appointment.
If you need help choosing a doctor, you can also use the AOK-Clarimedis medical video consultation as an AOK policyholder.
Cross-practice doctor portals for making appointments
On practice-independent service portals such as Doctolib, Jameda, Dr. Flex or the AOK health navigator, you can search for doctors of all specialties and frequently book appointments. Some of these portals even allow you to create personal profiles and make and manage appointments for the whole family. Your data is protected by a personal password and two-factor authentication. This means that you have to provide a second form of proof if you want to access your customer account, for example a number that you receive by text message.
When booking appointments via external portals, pay attention to the respective general terms and conditions of business and cancellation conditions or specific information on cancellation fees due in the event of a no-show.
Are you unable to attend? Then simply cancel online
If something comes up or if your health problem has been resolved in the meantime, you can cancel the appointment in the same way you booked it. Simply click on the link in the confirmation e-mail or send a return text message. This is also the most time-efficient solution for patients and medical practices.
If you are not sure which doctor is right for you
For some symptoms, it may not be entirely clear which medical specialty could help. In this case, it is advisable to contact 116 117. This is the patient service of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, which all people with statutory health insurance can use free of charge. There is a patient navigation system that suggests a suitable medical contact point based on the symptoms. You can also use the 116 117 website to search for a doctor or psychotherapist near your home or book appointments online. There you will also find addresses for on-call practices if you have acute complaints that are not life-threatening at the weekend or after the practice has closed. The 116 117 number - i.e. without an area code - can also be called nationwide around the clock, seven days a week. To find a specialist, you can also access the AOK health navigator and search for medical practices in your area by entering the zip code or street.