Situation · Family in an apartment
Family ill in a Berlin apartment
Family ill in a Berlin apartment is an occasion for a private medical home visit, for which RAB Arztbesuche dispatches a licensed physician to your home, office or hotel in Berlin daily from 6 am to midnight.
A whole family can catch a gastroenteritis, an RSV wave or a streptococcal infection in 48 hours. Our board-certified team visits the Berlin apartment or Airbnb, examines every affected family member in a single visit, runs rapid tests, treats on site and issues multilingual sick notes — so parents do not have to shuttle between three emergency rooms.
Medically reviewed by Susanne Reiche · Last reviewed
When the whole family is ill — multi-patient house call
Berlin as a family travel destination is popular: zoo, Museum Island, children's museum, day trips to Tropical Islands — and in this intensity a gastroenteritis, RSV or streptococcal infection moves quickly from child to child to parents. A US family in a Mitte apartment with father and two children stuck in bed with gastroenteritis has two uncomfortable options: visit three Berlin emergency rooms or hope the statutory on-call reaches each in sequence. Or we come once and examine all four in the same visit.
Our service is designed exactly for this. A house call is not single-patient. When three family members are ill, we examine three — thoroughly, individually, each with their own finding. Rapid tests run in parallel (streptococcus on the children, norovirus clinical picture on the parents, influenza or RSV tests as needed). Treatment is coordinated: shared bland-diet plan, age-stratified antiemetic dosing, antibiotic for the family member with a positive streptococcus test, symptomatic therapy for the others.
Typical family scenarios
Gastroenteritis waves after shared buffet or restaurant meals, norovirus outbreaks in winter, RSV or influenza circulating through a family, streptococcal angina passing between siblings and parents, croup in the youngest plus bronchitis in the older ones, hand-foot-and-mouth in day-care children spreading to siblings, allergic reactions after a shared meal, acute otitis after a long flight with pressure changes.
Paediatric experience — what that means in practice
Several colleagues in our team carry paediatric or family-medicine experience focused on children. That means: we examine children age-appropriately, know the common Berlin day-care pathogens, carry age-appropriate doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen syrups and suppositories, and counsel parents calmly without unnecessary hospital anxiety. For a clearly paediatric emergency we organise transfer to a suitable Berlin children's hospital (Charité Virchow, DRK Westend, Helios Buch).
How a family house call works
You call. We take down symptoms for everyone, ages, apartment address, language and insurance. We allow time for multiple patients — typically 45 to 75 minutes on site instead of the usual 25 to 40. We say so transparently in advance. The physician calls before arrival.
On site we examine each affected family member in sequence. With very small children we start with them — they have the least patience. Rapid tests run in parallel. Treatment is discussed together. Each treated person receives an individual certificate and a consolidated invoice. Follow-up (phone next morning, referral to a Berlin paediatrician) is arranged as needed.
Billing for multiple patients
Each examined patient receives an individual GOÄ invoice — required by law. The visit fee (GOÄ codes 50 or 51) is not charged separately for every family member because only one travel takes place — significantly lowering the total cost versus three separate visits. Typical total for a family of three examined patients with diagnostics: EUR 350 to 550, depending on time of day and scope.
Travel insurers generally reimburse in full — assuming all parties are on the policy. For German families with PKV, every family member is billed separately through their respective insurer. For life-threatening emergencies, call 112.
Emergency? Dial the emergency number
If unconscious, with severe chest pain, breathlessness or heavy bleeding, dial 112 immediately. Our service complements the emergency services — it does not replace them.
Case profiles
Typical scenarios
US family, gastroenteritis in a Mitte apartment
Father, mother, two children (4 and 7), vomiting and diarrhoea since midnight after a buffet breakfast. We arrive in 70 minutes, short infusion for the 4-year-old, antiemetics for everyone, clear oral-rehydration plan, English bland-diet recommendations, English sick notes for parents. Travel insurance covers in full.
Streptococcal wave in a Berlin family
Family in Prenzlauer Berg, three-year-old brought streptococcus home from day care, now six-year-old sibling and mother with sore throat and fever. Rapid test on all, positive in two, age-appropriate antibiotic, clear hygiene instructions, day-care notes.
RSV wave in an extended family over Christmas
Family from the Netherlands in a Charlottenburg holiday apartment, grandmother, parents, three children, two with cough and fever. RSV rapid test, pulse oximetry on the children, inhalation, clear escalation instructions for the night, phone follow-up in the morning.
Hand-foot-and-mouth plus bronchitis
Berlin family in Friedrichshain, four-year-old with classic HFMD vesicles, older sibling with bronchitis, father with bronchitis and fever. Diagnosis and therapy for each, sick notes and day-care certificates, clear instructions for the coming week.
Frequently asked questions
Can you really examine the whole family in one visit?
Yes. We allow time for it and spend 45 to 75 minutes on site instead of the usual 25 to 40. Each patient receives an individual examination and individual certificate.
Will someone with paediatric experience come?
When children are announced we deliberately assign a colleague with paediatric experience. Please mention the children's ages when you call.
We have international travel insurance — how does billing work?
You receive one GOÄ invoice per patient, with English diagnosis translation on request. Submit them to your travel insurer. Most international policies reimburse in full.
What if one of the children needs hospital admission?
We coordinate the referral to a suitable Berlin children's hospital and stay with the child until transport arrives or until you take the child yourself.
Book now or call
Get in touch — we will arrange a doctor for Family ill in a Berlin apartment.