Insulin injections at home in Berlin: blood sugar checks and doses by our nurses

We inject your insulin at fixed times in your own flat and check your blood sugar first – exactly following your doctor's regime, at weekends and on public holidays too. The basis is a doctor's prescription (Verordnung) under § 37 SGB V. Your health insurer then pays, and no care level (Pflegegrad) is needed.

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Insulin has to go under the skin at the right time and in the right amount. That becomes difficult when eyesight fades and the units on the pen can no longer be read, when hands shake, or when someone suddenly has to inject for the first time after a hospital stay. That is when we come: in the morning, at midday or in the evening at the agreed time, in step with meals. We measure the blood sugar with your meter or read the glucose sensor, set the prescribed dose on the insulin pen or draw up the syringe, and inject. Every dose is recorded in the care documentation with the time, the reading and the units.

The only thing that counts is the injection regime from the doctor's practice: fixed units, a set gap between injection and meal (Spritz-Ess-Abstand), or a correction table that sets a particular amount for each reading. We follow it exactly; we never change a dose on our own initiative. If a reading falls outside the range the practice has set, we act on its instructions for low or high blood sugar and inform your GP practice (Hausarztpraxis) the same day. If someone is barely responsive, we call 112 straight away. If the practice changes the regime, we inject from the new written plan.

At each visit we look at more than the injection. We rotate the injection sites on the abdomen and thighs so that no hardened areas form, where insulin works less well. If you wish, we also look at the feet: people with diabetes often do not feel pressure marks, redness or small wounds, so we report such findings to the practice the same day. If you or a relative would like to learn to inject yourselves, the practice can prescribe instruction (Anleitung). We then show you step by step how to handle the meter, the pen and the needle until every move is second nature.

Behind the care stands Sonnenstrahlen Pflege GmbH, with a supply contract (Versorgungsvertrag) under SGB XI and approval for home nursing care under SGB V. Three offices share the area: Sickingenstr. 52 (Moabit) as the head office, Heilbronner Str. 1 (Halensee) and Theodor-Heuss-Platz 1 (Westend). We drive on every day of the week, public holidays included. We do not drive at night, and we do not offer 24-hour care. We explain the regime, the readings and the injection technique in German, English or Russian – and, if you wish, to relatives over the phone.

What we take on for diabetes

Insulin by pen or syringe

Setting the dose according to the practice's regime, changing the needle, injecting under the skin and rotating the site – in the morning, at midday or in the evening at a fixed time.

Blood sugar checks

A reading with your meter before the dose or at the prescribed times; on prescription, reading a glucose sensor as well. The value and the units then go into the documentation.

Acting on unusual readings

With low or high blood sugar we follow the practice's instructions and inform the GP practice. In an emergency we call 112.

Thrombosis injections and other injections under the skin

Heparin against thrombosis, for example after an operation, and other injections under the skin – likewise on a doctor's prescription and at a fixed time.

Instruction and a look at the feet

On prescription we show you or your relatives how to inject. We report pressure marks and wounds on the foot to the practice; wound care for a diabetic foot we take on with its own prescription.

Our round for insulin visits

Insulin that belongs with breakfast must not arrive at lunchtime. To keep the times, we deliberately keep our area manageable: from Moabit and the southern part of Wedding (13353) across Charlottenburg and into the south-west, driven from our Moabit, Halensee and Westend bases. These localities are fixed points on the rounds:

Moabit and Hansaviertel
Tiergarten
Wedding (13353 only)
Charlottenburg-Nord
Siemensstadt
Spandau
Westend
Charlottenburg
Halensee
Wilmersdorf
Schmargendorf, Grunewald and Dahlem
Schöneberg and Friedenau

Postcodes: 10551, 10553, 10555, 10557, 10559, 10585, 10587, 10589, 10623, 10625, 10627, 10629, 10707, 10709, 10711, 10713, 10717, 10719, 10777, 10779, 10787, 10789, 10825, 12159, 12161, 13353, 13597, 13599, 13627, 13629, 14050, 14052, 14053, 14055, 14057, 14059, 14193, 14195, 14197, 14199

Who pays, and the statutory co-payment

Insulin injections and blood sugar checks count as treatment care (Behandlungspflege), that is, home nursing care under § 37 SGB V. The doctor's practice prescribes them on the Muster 12 form; what the insurer pays per visit is fixed by the Berlin contract with the health insurers. Once the Verordnung is in place, the bill goes to your health insurer (Krankenkasse) and not to you – backdated to the date of issue, provided the form reaches the insurer within the following four working days (§ 6 Abs. 5 HKP-Richtlinie). For adults, two amounts remain open. The first is tied to the day of the visit: ten per cent of what the care costs on that day, limited to the first 28 such days in a calendar year. The second is tied to the form: a one-off ten euros as soon as a new Verordnung has been issued. If you are exempt, a copy of the decision is enough for us – once, not again with every Verordnung.

Insulin injections do not require a care level (Pflegegrad), because they run through the health insurance. The insurer does set one condition: it pays when nobody in the household can do the injecting. If someone lives with you who cannot do it, or who is not at home at the injection times, exactly that belongs on the Verordnung as the reason. If personal care or help around the house are added, the long-term care insurance fund (Pflegekasse) covers those under SGB XI; care benefits in kind under § 36 SGB XI are available from care level 2 (Pflegegrad 2) upwards, and at care level 1 what remains is the monthly relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag) under § 45b SGB XI. For people with statutory insurance we handle the billing with the Krankenkasse and the Pflegekasse ourselves. Anyone with a private policy receives our invoice and submits it to their own insurer. Which part of your care runs through which payer is something we sort out at the free first appointment.

Four steps to insulin on schedule

A call or a message: Tell us how often a day you inject and with which meals. By phone on 030 64828209, in writing to info@sonnenstrahlen-pflege.de.
A look at the injection regime: A qualified nurse comes round, looks at the regime, the pen, the meter and your supplies, and agrees the times with you. This visit is free of charge.
Getting the Verordnung: The practice enters insulin injections and blood sugar checks, with frequency and period, on the Muster 12 form; the injection regime goes with it. We take the form to the insurer within the deadline – then the day it was issued is already covered.
Fixed injection times: From the agreed day we come at the fixed times, at weekends and on public holidays too, document every reading and every dose, and report anything unusual to the practice.

Questions about insulin and blood sugar

What does it cost when a home nurse injects my insulin?

The prescribed visits themselves cost you nothing; they are billed to your health insurer (Krankenkasse). What remains open is the co-payment required by § 61 SGB V: ten per cent of the costs on the first 28 days of care in a calendar year, and ten euros per Verordnung. A certificate of exemption cancels it. Anyone with a private policy receives an invoice from us for their own insurer.

Do I need a Verordnung for insulin injections?

For the health insurer to pay, yes: the GP or diabetes practice prescribes insulin injections and blood sugar checks on the Muster 12 form; after a discharge the hospital writes the paper. It should also state why nobody in the household can inject, for example because of poor eyesight, shaking hands or forgetfulness. Care without a Verordnung is not forbidden, it simply cannot be billed to the insurer; you then receive our self-pay price in writing beforehand. When a Verordnung is running out, we ask the practice for the follow-up in good time.

Do you change the dose when blood sugar is too high or too low?

Not on our own judgement. We inject exactly what the regime says; if it includes a correction table, we set the units according to the reading. With low or high blood sugar we follow the practice's instructions and inform the GP practice the same day. If someone is barely responsive or confused, we call 112.

At what times do you come to inject?

In the morning, at midday and in the evening, at fixed times that we agree with you at the first appointment to fit the gap between injection and meal – at weekends and on public holidays too. We do not drive at night, and we do not offer 24-hour care. If your regime includes a dose during the night, please raise this with the practice before we start.

Can relatives learn to inject themselves?

Yes. The practice can prescribe instruction (Anleitung); over several visits we then show how to take a reading, set the dose and inject, and what to do with unusual readings. Once someone in the household injects safely, the insurer will as a rule no longer pay for our doses. If that person later becomes unable to do it, for example through illness, the practice can prescribe the injections again.

Do you have capacity, and do you drive to my address?

There is currently room on our rounds, and we answer enquiries by phone or email within the same working day. Whether we can come to you regularly is decided by the postcode – the list is at the top of this page. The core of the area is Wilmersdorf, Halensee, Charlottenburg and Moabit, plus Westend, Charlottenburg-Nord, Siemensstadt, Spandau and Schmargendorf, and from Wedding only the 13353. If a hospital gets in touch, we agree the discharge day with the ward so that no insulin dose is missed.

Ask about insulin injections at home

Phone 030 64828209 or info@sonnenstrahlen-pflege.de. Have the injection regime and, if you have one, the Verordnung to hand – then we can judge on the phone which times will work. We come back to you within the same working day; the introductory visit to your flat is not charged.

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What you can rely on

Licensed care provider: Care provision contract under § 72 SGB XI and approval for home nursing care under § 37 SGB V; listed in the Berlin state register of care providers.
Billed directly with your insurer: with all statutory health and nursing care insurers; privately insured clients receive an invoice for their insurer.
Accepting new patients: we respond the same working day.
We work with hospitals: we take over directly from hospital discharge management, coordinated with clinic, GP practice and insurer.
Three offices in Berlin: Sickingenstr. 52 (Moabit), Heilbronner Str. 1 (Halensee), Theodor-Heuss-Platz 1 (Westend).
German · English · Russian: care and consultation in your language.