Medical notification of occupational skin diseases by dermatologists

In accordance with § 202 SGB VII, physicians in Germany have a legal obligation to report to the statutory accident insurance institution any justified suspicion of an occupational disease. With regard to skin diseases, various occupational disease numbers (Berufskrankheitennummer = BK No.) can be considered, depending on the type of disease and the type of exposure, e.g. BK No. 3101, 3102, 3104, BK No. 5102 and others in addition to the most common BK No. 5101 and BK No. 5103. The prerequisite for a well-founded suspicion is that occupational effects exist or existed which can be brought into a causal relationship with the skin disease. Form F6000 “Medical notification of a suspected occupational disease” is used for reporting. In the case of the numerically most significant BK No. 5101, there is the special feature that even if the skin disease is classified as occupationally caused, but not as severe or repeatedly relapsing, according to § 41 (1) of the contract between physicians and the accident insurance institutions, every physician is obliged to immediately present the insured person to a dermatologist so that the so-called dermatologist procedure can be initiated to enable the rapid initiation of prevention. Since 1 January 2021, it has been stipulated that the dermatologist’s report must be submitted in every case—i.e. both when there is merely the possibility and when there is a well-founded suspicion of the existence of a BK No. 5101. This ensures that preventive measures can be quickly and effectively implemented.