Telmed model callmed 24
Our popular health insurance savings model
Open in the holidays? Wide awake at 2 a.m. to greet you with a smile? This is exactly what callmed 24 offers. With this popular basic insurance model from our health insurance scheme, great doctors are just a phone call away, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You will receive professional advice in telephone or video consultations via the Medgate app or on +41 844 852 852. Wave goodbye to waiting rooms for good!
Brief overview of the callmed 24 telemedicine model
Advantages:
- You get a discount on your premiums. Find out more about the premium discount here >
- You get 24/7 telemedical advice and treatment through Medgate by phone or video using the Medgate app.
- All telemedical benefits will be free of charge for you: Sympany will cover all costs with no franchise or deductible.
- With telmed, you will be treated by qualified doctors with various specialist fields – with no sitting in waiting rooms.
Disadvantages:
- You don’t get a free choice of doctor and will have to abide by the rules of the telmed model.
- You can’t go directly to a medical practice, but will instead have to contact Medgate every time. Medgate will only send you to a medical or specialist practice if required.
The callmed 24 telemedicine model is a Managed Care model. This means that, instead of a free choice of doctor, you benefit from 24/7 phone or video consultations by Medgate. Medgate will see to it that you get the right treatment – and will avoid unnecessary examinations. This keeps healthcare costs – as well as your premiums – down.
There are three main ways that the callmed 24 telmed model is different from the standard model of basic insurance:
- callmed 24: You get a discount on your premiums. Find out more about the premium discount >
classic: You don’t get a premium discount and pay the regular premium. - callmed 24: If you experience health problems, always consult Medgate first. All telemedical benefits will be free of charge for you – Sympany will cover all costs, with no cost contribution.
classic: As you have a free choice of doctor, you can also use Medgate telemedicine. You will contribute towards the costs by paying a franchise or deductible. - callmed 24: The Medgate treatment plan must be followed (see rules).
classic: From a medical perspective, Medgate’s treatment plan is the best way to alleviate your complaints. We recommend following it.
Whether by telmed or a visit to your medical practice, you can rest assured you will receive the best treatment. Whichever option you choose, you will be seen by qualified doctors.
Anyone can suddenly fall ill at the weekend or during the night and need medical help. During these times, I don’t want to go straight to the emergency department at the hospital. With callmed 24, a doctor is there for me twenty-four hours a day and this gives me security.
Mario Horvat, 34, manager
How the callmed 24 telmed model works
- If you’re ill, always contact the Medgate telemedical centre first.
- Medgate coordinates your treatment and, if necessary, refers you to your family doctor, a specialist or the hospital. You can visit an ophthalmologist, gynaecologist, paediatrician or emergency department directly – no need for a referral. (But: emergency treatment must be reported to Medgate within five days.)
- In the telemedicine model, you pay between 9 and 14% less in premiums than for a model with a free choice of doctor.*
Telemedical advice and treatment – over the phone or via the Medgate app
Medgate telemedicine: +41 844 852 852
Or book a doctor’s appointment online >
Medgate’s telephone/video consultations are available 24/7. Please have your customer number (9 digits) ready. You will find this number on your insurance card, policy or benefit statement.
Sympany covers the costs for telemedical treatment and advice for all callmed 24 policyholders. Calls to Medgate telemedicine will be billed at your usual rate.
What does it mean if I choose the callmed 24 telmed model as my basic insurance?
With the callmed 24 telemedicine model, a medical consultation is just a phone call away – any day, around the clock. What does that mean? Which doctors are available for telephone/video consultations? Find out everything you need to know here and in our callmed 24 product leaflet.
Whenever there is a new treatment, always call for a Medgate telephone/video consultation first – via the Medgate app or on +41 844 852 852. The Medgate telemedical centre has many excellent doctors who can help you in German, French, Italian or English. This ensures you’ll get well-coordinated and cost-conscious treatment. That’s why you also benefit from a premium discount. More information about Medgate >
You can register by phone or via the Medgate app. You can arrange an appointment with reception as usual by phone. You can use the app to first enter your symptoms and then set an appointment for the telephone/video consultation. The Medgate app may also recommend a visit to a medical centre due to the symptoms described and allocate a corresponding time window for this.
You will be looked after by a qualified team of doctors with various specialisms. Consultations are held in German, French, Italian or English. You can specify your preferred doctors in the Medgate app. More detailed information is available from Medgate. If further examinations are necessary, you will be referred to a specialist or hospital.
After the treatment, you will receive your treatment plan by e-mail or via the Medgate app. If you use the app, you can adjust this plan at any time and thus inform Medgate about referrals or an extension of the treatment duration. If you don’t use the app, simply notify Medgate of referrals or extended treatment by phone.
Medical support from Medgate is free of charge for callmed 24 policyholders. You are only required to pay the charges for your call. The relevant cost contribution only applies if you’ve been referred to a specialist for further treatment.
In this case, it’s important to contact Medgate again beforehand to coordinate the intended additional referral and adjust the treatment time window.
No, that would be against the rules of callmed 24. Exceptions only apply in acute emergencies and for ophthalmologists, dentists, gynaecologists and paediatricians for children under the age of 16.
Yes, please follow the treatment plan Medgate creates for you. Treatment windows must be available for follow-up treatments. This is checked.
Sympany monitors compliance with the rules – both by law and out of fairness towards other policyholders. Anyone who disregards the rules will face financial consequences (e.g. because they need to be moved to a traditional basic insurance plan and no switch is possible for a year or because they have to cover treatment costs if they repeatedly disregard the rules).
Special cases and exceptions
In acute, very serious or life-threatening emergencies that require immediate treatment, go directly to the emergency doctor. After you’ve received emergency treatment, inform Medgate – ideally within five days. Someone close to you may also notify Medgate.
In this case too, please contact the Medgate telephone/video consultation service as your first port of call.
Exception: the accident is an acute, (life-) threatening emergency, meaning immediate treatment is the priority. In this case, please contact Medgate afterwards and ideally provide them with the emergency treatment certificate that you received from the emergency care centre.
You can contact your gynaecologist directly for any treatments relating to your pregnancy.
For non-pregnancy-related medical issues, please get in touch with the Medgate telephone/video consultation service as usual.
Yes, there are exceptions. You can contact ophthalmologists, gynaecologists and emergency doctors directly. And paediatricians for children under 16 years old can also be chosen freely.
Please inform Medgate about your ongoing treatment. This will ensure that your treatment plan and the time window that applies to it are kept up to date.
If it’s the same illness every time, ask for a longer time window for treatment. This means you don’t have to contact Medgate before every visit to the doctor. Please note that as soon as the specified time window expires, you must contact Medgate again.
No, Medgate only needs to be informed when a treatment window is inadequate and needs to be extended for a particular treatment that has already been reported or when a new treatment that hasn’t yet been agreed with Medgate becomes necessary.
No, you do not need to report prescribed therapies. However, consultations at the medical practice that prescribed the therapy must be coordinated with Medgate.
Please inform Medgate in advance about obtaining medication from a medical practice. This will allow the Medgate doctors to coordinate your treatment.
If you experience technical problems with the app or have any questions, Medgate's customer services team will be happy to help and advise you (+41 61 377 88 28).
Medgate can also be reached by telephone around the clock for your medical concerns:
- For callmed 24 and casamed pharm policyholders: +41 844 852 852
- For flexhelp24 policyholders: +41 844 654 654
Express your uncertainty. You can also ask another Medgate doctor to reassess your problem.
Switch insurance model
Find out what you need to know when switching to another Sympany basic insurance here: Switch insurance models. Please bear in mind that the rules of the current model remain valid until the switch, as you will still benefit from the discount of your old model until then.
Downloads
Terms and Conditions of Insurance callmed 24 (2024)
A comparison of all Sympany’s basic insurance policies
Your advantages at Sympany
* Examples of the premium discounts
Discount of 9%:
adult premium in Geneva GE, CHF 2’500.– deductible, without accident cover, Vivao Sympany AG
Discount of 14%:
adult premium in Stans NW, CHF 2’500.– deductible, without accident cover, Vivao Sympany AG
Depending on the alternative insurance model, insured persons can have one or a number of available first points of contact (Medgate, family doctor’s practice/HMO centre, pharmacy) for reporting health complaints.
Some models make it possible to coordinate treatment to a greater extent than others, which results in varying levels of cost savings. Sympany passes these cost savings on to its customers in the form of a premium discount – which is always calculated precisely for the respective model, age group, franchise and premium region.