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In Order No. 532 of the Ministry of Health, the sick leave (medical certificate of incapacity for work) is described as a multifunctional document. Presenting it can serve as a basis for being exempted from work in cases of employee incapacity, pregnancy, and childbirth.
Requirements for sick leave
For a sick leave to be accepted as an official document, it must be completed in accordance with legal requirements. On its front side it is necessary to indicate the name of the enterprise where the patient works, its legal address, as well as the established diagnosis and the date the patient sought medical care. The attending physician or a junior medical worker with specialized education is responsible for filling out the sick leave.
To obtain a sick leave certificate, you must visit the outpatient clinic at your place of residence on the first day of illness.
Who is legally authorized to issue a sick leave certificate?
This right is granted to: the attending physician of state and municipal medical institutions, the attending physician of prosthetic-orthopedic institutions, the attending physician of tuberculosis sanatoriums, a feldsher (provided there is no physician on the staff of the medical institution and on seagoing vessels), and an attending physician in a private clinic registered as a sole proprietor (FOP).
Is a doctor’s house call a reason to stay off work?
A doctor called to the patient’s home, after examining the patient, makes a note in the record, but the sick leave certificate is opened only when the patient goes to the clinic. The doctor sets an appointment date when the patient must come for an examination and confirm that the sick leave has been issued.
A document confirming temporary incapacity for work is issued after a personal examination of the patient by a physician, which must be recorded in the outpatient or inpatient medical card with justification for the temporary incapacity.
How is a hospital stay documented?
If a person is admitted to a medical institution for treatment, a sick leave certificate will be opened there, which must be signed by the chief physician.
Can emergency services issue a document confirming a doctor’s visit?
Order of the Ministry of Health No. 455 sets out the rules for calling an ambulance team. It states that ambulance doctors do not have the right to issue sick leave certificates. Instead, the doctor may issue a note confirming that an ambulance doctor actually visited the patient. This same document records the patient’s indicators, the preliminary diagnosis, and the medications used. With this note you can then contact the district physician, who will issue the sick leave certificate. The ambulance note by itself does not excuse absence from work.
Is sick leave calculated in calendar days or working days?
For the entire period of loss of capacity for work until its restoration or the assignment of disability, sick leave is calculated in calendar days. A sick leave can be obtained even for a single day. Such an exemption from work can be obtained from a gynecologist, otolaryngologist, and other narrow-profile specialists who perform procedures during the appointment that interfere with the performance of work duties.
How much time is given to a patient to recover?
According to clause 2.2 of the Instructions on the procedure for issuing a sick leave certificate, in case of loss of capacity for work due to illness or injury, the sick leave is issued by the attending physician of an outpatient medical facility for a period of 5 days, but may be extended to 10 calendar days. It all depends on the severity of the illness.
When must the employer pay for sick leave?
There is an approved form of the calculation-application that insurers submit to the Social Insurance Fund. It serves as the basis for financing material benefits from the fund’s resources.
The insurer (employer), based on the decision of the social insurance commission at the enterprise, calculates the amount of material benefits and enters it in the calculation-application. The deadline for submitting the application to the Fund is not regulated by law, so it is submitted as it is processed.
At large enterprises with centralized accounting, sick leave certificates are collected for some time and then submitted to the Fund simultaneously, usually once or twice a month.
Where should a patient registered elsewhere seek medical care?
For urgent and emergency indications, medical care is provided to any patient regardless of place of registration.
Funding for outpatient-polyclinic institutions is calculated based on the population residing in their service area. Since there are migratory processes within the country today, in Kyiv and regional centers, to register with a clinic in the absence of permanent registration you need to fill out an application. The application should indicate both the applicant’s actual place of residence and place of registration.