## The short answer
For your online medical request, you should have information ready on your symptoms and their course, previous treatments and their outcome, current medicines and pre-existing conditions, plus any existing findings such as doctors' letters. Findings are not uploaded but summarised in the questionnaire: diagnosis, date and practice are sufficient. You do not need a referral, a health insurance card or, except for the video consultation, an appointment. What matters is that the information is complete and truthful, because the doctor assesses only what is stated in the questionnaire.
Why preparation matters
With an online request, the doctor does not see you. They assess only what you state in the questionnaire. Complete and truthful information is therefore not a formality but the basis of the decision. Incomplete questionnaires are among the most common reasons for a request being declined.
This checklist helps you put the information together in advance. It does not tell you what to state so that a prescription is issued. That would be neither in your interest nor permissible: the doctor bears responsibility for the treatment and can only take it on if the information is accurate.
What the questionnaire asks for
| Area | What is asked | What you should have ready |
|---|---|---|
| Symptoms | Type, duration, course and effects on everyday life | Your own description, ideally with time references ("since 2023", "daily") |
| Previous treatments | What has already been tried and with what result | Names of therapies and medicines, approximate time periods, why they were stopped |
| Current medicines | Everything you take regularly, including over-the-counter products | Medication plan or the packs |
| Pre-existing conditions | Conditions that may speak against treatment | Diagnoses from doctors' letters, date, treating practice |
| Medical findings | Whether findings exist and which ones | Doctors' letters, discharge reports, diagnosis lists to summarise |
| Personal details | Name, date of birth, address, contact details | Identity document |
| Preferred preparation and pharmacy | Which preparation you would like, which pharmacy should receive the prescription | See Choosing a pharmacy |
The questionnaire takes 5 to 10 minutes if you have the information to hand. Findings are not uploaded but summarised in text fields: diagnosis, date and practice are sufficient.
What is expressly not required
- No referral. The request works without a local GP or specialist.
- No appointment, unless you choose the video consultation.
- No health insurance card. The result is a private prescription (Privatrezept); your health insurance fund is not involved in the process. There is a separate article on cost coverage by health insurance.
- No advance check on whether you are "suitable". That is precisely the medical assessment for which you are making the request.
If findings are missing
Not every complaint is medically documented. In that case, state honestly that no findings are available and describe the course as precisely as possible. The doctor decides whether this is sufficient for an assessment or whether they consider an in-person examination necessary. Exclusively remote treatment is only permissible if it is medically justifiable in the individual case.¹ A refusal on these grounds is not a statement about your symptoms, but about the limits of assessing someone remotely.
Before submitting
- Check your information once more for completeness, especially medicines and pre-existing conditions
- Check the pharmacy you have chosen: the prescription is transmitted there and cannot be taken to any other pharmacy of your choice
- Check your email address: you will receive the link to your status page through it
What happens after submitting is described in the article on how the online request works.
Data protection
Health data belong to the specially protected categories of data under Article 9 GDPR (DSGVO). The information in the questionnaire is transmitted encrypted, processed on servers in Germany and used exclusively for the medical assessment and handling of the prescription. No marketing tracking is embedded on the application domain on which the questionnaire runs. Details can be found in the privacy policy.
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This article is intended to help you organise a request and does not replace medical advice. Whether treatment is an option is decided solely by the reviewing doctor.
Sources
- (Muster-)Berufsordnung für die in Deutschland tätigen Ärztinnen und Ärzte (MBO-Ä) [(Model) Professional Code for Physicians in Germany], § 7 para. 4 – Fernbehandlung [remote treatment]
- Verordnung (EU) 2016/679 (DSGVO) [General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR], Article 9 – processing of special categories of personal data