Introduction to three ways of seeing a doctor in Germany

Dear friends who plan to immigrate to Germany, please note that to live in Germany, you first need to understand the three ways in which Germans treat doctors. Let me learn about it below, I hope it will be helpful to you.

Family doctors (Allgemeinarzt)

German family doctors can deal with common diseases, such as colds, fevers, trauma and internal injuries, etc. Germans generally choose a doctor as their regular family doctor. This doctor is familiar with the patient's medical history and personal situation, and can understand the condition relatively quickly.

After finding the contact information of your family doctor, it is best to call and make an appointment directly. If the situation is urgent or you are suffering from pain, be sure to explain it to the nurse, which can shorten the waiting time to a certain extent.

Specialist (Facharzt)

If the family doctor thinks you should be referred to a specialist for more detailed examination, he will issue a referral note. If you don't have a family doctor yet and know which specialist you should see, you can make an appointment yourself.

Appointments with specialists are relatively difficult, and patients with national health insurance often have to wait several weeks. If the situation is more urgent, you can contact your medical insurance company for help.

Hospital (Krankenhaus)

If you encounter an emergency and urgently need treatment, you should immediately call the emergency number and contact the ambulance for treatment. The number of the ambulance is 19222. The operator will immediately transfer you to the nearest hospital and arrange for the ambulance to visit.

Except for emergencies, if the condition is more complicated, a comprehensive physical examination is required, or surgery is required, you should also be prepared to go to the hospital.

The choice of hospital is up to you. You can ask your family doctor to recommend it based on the subjects you need, or your relatives and friends to recommend it, or you can decide based on the evaluation on the hospital website. For a more comprehensive introduction to German hospitals, you can get hospital information by entering the postal code and subjects.