How do I book a house call in Berlin?

Three ways to book — phone, WhatsApp, online

The fastest route is the phone call to the RAB control room, staffed daily 6 am to midnight. The phone is the default because structured triage works most safely on the line — we hear breathing, fluency and stress level, none of which is transmitted by text. The call typically takes three to five minutes and follows a fixed sequence: greeting, chief complaint, onset, associated symptoms, pre-existing conditions, medication, allergies, address, language, callback contact. We close with a concrete arrival window — e.g. 'The doctor will be with you between 8:30 and 9:00 pm.' — and an honest cost range.

If you cannot or do not want to call — for example at night in a hotel room with sleeping companions, with language barriers, or when illness has taken your voice — send a WhatsApp message. Please without sensitive medical detail; 'Please call back — house call Berlin Wilmersdorf' is enough. We ring back, often within 10 minutes. WhatsApp is encrypted but not intended for detailed symptom histories — the triage itself happens on the phone. Third, the online booking form at /en/book/ asks the same fields in structured form and lets you pick a callback window.

Important: for life-threatening symptoms, booking is the wrong path — dial 112 immediately. Our triage detects emergency patterns and reroutes if in doubt, but a direct emergency call saves critical minutes. For plannable matters (vaccinations, follow-ups, dressing changes, vitamin infusions, travel medicine) we also accept scheduled bookings, typically one to seven days in advance. In that case we agree the exact window, send an SMS confirmation and quote the expected cost. Self-payers and privately insured patients are equally welcome — on the phone we are honest about the GOÄ range to expect.

Example: hotel call at 9:30 pm

A hotel guest on Kurfürstendamm calls at 9:30 pm: 'Sore throat, fever 39.2 °C, since the afternoon, important meeting tomorrow.' Triage takes four minutes — no shortness of breath, no chest pain, no visible tonsillar exudate, no known penicillin allergy. We confirm a house call between 10:30 and 11:00 pm, GOÄ range typically 280 to 340 euros including the evening surcharge, treatment in English. The doctor arrives at 10:42, examines, runs a strep rapid test, prescribes the right antibiotic and a certificate for travel insurance. Total time from booking to closed case: about 90 minutes.

What we need on the phone — structured intake

• Name, date of birth, insurance status (PKV, GKV, self-payer, tourist).
• Chief complaint in one sentence: 'High fever since last night', 'Vomiting since lunch', 'Migraine for three hours'.
• Onset and course: how long, constant, worsening, fluctuating.
• Associated symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, vision changes, paralysis — critical for emergency triage.
• Pre-existing conditions, regular medication, allergies — relevant for on-site treatment.
• Exact address including floor, entrance, name on doorbell, hotel room number.
• Preferred language of treatment (German, English, others on request).
• Best number for callback and arrival SMS.