Issued on paper forms will no longer be valid

From the beginning of next year doctors will submit electronically medical sick notes in the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) and after December 31, issued hospital paper forms will not be valid. This was announced last week by the Institute. The reason for the change is the operation of an electronic registry of medical sick notes that starts from the 1^st of January 2015.

From the 1^st of December this year the registered in the NSSI medical institutions can receive unique numbers for the medical sick notes from the local offices of the Institute or online via a web application. Doctors and the medical institutions have to be registered as users the of web services provided by the Institute starting the same day, which will facilitate the exchange of data between the system and the electronic register.

The registration is done through a web application accessible through the website of the Institute. For this purpose, doctors, medical institutions and individual practices have to hold a valid certificate for a qualified electronic signature.

The NSSI reminds that the receipt of unique numbers of medical sick notes and making them available to the doctors is the responsibility of the heads of the medical institutions.

The medical institutions, which are not registered in the NSSI, have to submit an application form (together with the registration of the medical institution) from the 1^st of December to obtain unique numbers for the medical sick notes in the territorial division of the NSSI.

For the issuing of medical sick notes after the 1^st of January 2015 it is obligatory to use the software distributed by the NSSI free of charge or any other programs with defined requirements, published on the website of the Institute. They are intended for the software developers used by the medical expertise authorities and the medical institutions.