The article provides information related to the term extract from health (medical) documentation, which is a necessary formality for assessing people’s fitness for work. It is primarily intended for employees. Drawing on my HR practice, I boldly claim that it is also informative for employers.
Introduction to the extract from health documentation
You will probably deal with an extract from health documentation several times in your life:
- when starting a temporary job or practical training at a company as part of your education,
- with every job change (change of job classification if work risks change),
- repeatedly at regular intervals as part of periodic and extraordinary occupational medical examinations.
This requirement is set out in the Specific Health Services Act, specifically CHAPTER IV: ASSESSMENT CARE AND MEDICAL REPORTS, OCCUPATIONAL MEDICAL SERVICES, ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES.
With a little exaggeration, we can say that if an occupational health risk lurks somewhere, you will have to undergo an official medical examination. 🙂
There are also temporary jobs and positions where no risks are defined. In these exceptional cases, you can work without an initial occupational medical examination in the case of agreements, and based on an assessment issued by your general practitioner (a professionally registering provider in the field of general practice and general practitioner for children and adolescents) in the case of employment contracts. If you do not have a general practitioner, a medical report for low-risk work can also be issued by another doctor who provides services in the field of general practice or general practitioner for children and adolescents.
Initial occupational medical examination – when and why is it necessary to attend?
Drawing on my HR practice, I quote below the regulation that stems from this part of the Specific Health Services Act. I want to explain why employers make their future employees run around to doctors even before the employment relationship arises (i.e. before starting work).
The employer shall always arrange an initial medical examination before the creation of:
1) an employment relationship,
2) a legal relationship established by an agreement on work performed outside an employment relationship, if the job seeker is to be assigned to work that is classified as hazardous work under the Public Health Protection Act.
As I have already mentioned, in the case of agreements, you can sometimes get by completely without an initial medical examination.
Extract from health documentation
The occupational medical services provider (company doctor who has a written contract with your employer to provide occupational medical services and knows all the risks associated with your job classification) will always require an extract from health documentation from your general practitioner. They are required to do so by law.
If you do not have a general practitioner and the occupational medical services provider finds justified reasons why they cannot decide on your fitness for work using a basic examination, pursuant to this part of Decree No. 79/2013 Coll., specialised examinations shall replace the extract from health documentation.
Let us go together to general practitioners for extracts.
Sample application, online option and method of issuing the extract from health documentation
General practitioners must follow the legislation when issuing extracts. In general, however, it is entirely up to them how they organise the entire agenda of issuing extracts from health documentation. I contribute the experiences of many employees with whom I have dealt with onboarding formalities and my own experience as an employee whose general practitioner is the chain of general practitioners for adults MOJE AMBULANCE.
There is no universal template or method for requesting an extract from health documentation. Its format can be determined by the company doctor to whom you will go with your request for the final medical report on fitness for work. This request has its legal specifics. The employer will give it to you, or the company doctor will have it ready.
MOJE AMBULANCE shares a universal Application for an extract or copy of medical documentation on its website for printing, or patients can fill out an electronic application on the same website or in the app.
Will electronic extracts from health documentation be common practice in the future? I believe so. For now, arm yourself with patience, apply for the extract the traditional way (personal request, phone request, via e-mail) and go to the clinic in person to collect the extract. The doctor can send you the extract by registered letter. You can authorise someone (via a notarised power of attorney) to collect the extract for you and then send it to you.
The whole issue of viewing medical documentation, making extracts or copies thereof is dealt with in part of the Health Services Act. It is clearly defined who can view medical documentation and make copies and records from it. According to this provision, it is not possible to send an extract from health documentation by e-mail without verifying identity. In any case, you can try asking your general practitioner for this service.
I have not found anywhere whether it is possible to deliver the extract to a data box or a secure application. My opinion is that it is possible. The question is how many medical facilities provide such a service. Extracts are a source of income for clinics, so there would also have to be a way of electronic payment.
Price of the extract from health documentation and the initial medical examination
I will start with the price of extraordinary and periodic occupational examinations. These are always paid for by the employer. The same applies to the initial examination if the risk of night work applies to you (the employer will pay for it even if you do not start work).
Prices are governed by the contract between the occupational health services provider and the employer.
WARNING! You will pay the cost of the initial occupational health examination as a job applicant (future employee). Medical facilities often do not offer card payment, so please carry cash with you.
If an employment-law relationship is concluded (once you start work and become an employee), the employer will reimburse you for the examination costs. Sometimes it is agreed in the employment contract that the employer will reimburse the employee for the examination even if the employment relationship is not concluded or only after the probationary period. Such agreements are possible. If you terminate your employment during the probationary period, you are also entitled to have the examination reimbursed.
According to the law, the price of the extract must not exceed the costs of producing it. Practice is slightly different, however. In any case, patients must be aware of the price list. The price for an extract from health documentation ranges from 150 to 500 CZK (about 6.9 to 23 USD). I found this figure through long-term observation. It may of course vary. Sometimes a new employee comes along stating that they have known their general practitioner for many years and that they wanted nothing for the extract, while other times the price is exorbitant. This tends to happen when clinics charge higher costs, e.g. for express preparation within 24 hours.
The employer will also reimburse you for the extract from health documentation. This follows from the Labour Code.
Read: What is the ideal household emergency fund?
Speed of issuance and validity of the extract from health documentation
You can find information in this part of the Specific Health Services Act.
A general practitioner has 10 working days to process an application for an extract from health documentation from the date of submission of the application. In practice, however, this tends to be much faster. According to the same law, the occupational medical services provider also has a deadline of 10 working days from the receipt of the application to issue the medical report.
If you agree with your employer on your start date, start dealing with medical formalities as soon as possible.
The extract can be used to assess health status for a period of no more than 90 days from the date of its issuance.
If you already have an expired extract from health documentation at home, you can only apply for confirmation that no change in health status has been detected since the last issuance of the extract from health documentation.
What about foreigners from Ukraine, for example?
Currently (06 2022), the Czech labour market is dealing with an influx of Ukrainian job seekers. Two problems are associated with this. The first is that people from Ukraine may not have their own general practitioner in the Czech Republic. The second is that there may be an increased incidence of tuberculosis in the population migrating to us. This topic is addressed by this article with the cumbersome title Procedure of occupational medical services providers and registering providers in the field of general practice during occupational medical examinations – Ukraine.
A foreigner can be hired even without an extract from health documentation, but they will probably face specialised examinations and the whole process may take longer. A foreigner can also submit a notarised translation of an extract from health documentation from their home country.
USD amounts are approximate, converted at the Czech National Bank rate of 21.80 CZK per USD on 2 October 2026.
