ENEnglish-speaking doctors in Germany work in many hospitals and practices: German doctors, especially in university hospitals and large cities, often hold consultations in English, which helps patients coming for treatment, expats living here and visitors alike. Still, English is never automatic. It depends on the individual doctor, and the paperwork stays German.
This page explains what “English-speaking” means in a German hospital or practice, how to check a doctor’s languages and which doctors in our directory have English recorded or trained abroad. It then points to the city pages, describes how seeing a doctor works for an expat or a visitor — whom to see first, how to book, who pays — and shows how AlenMed arranges an appointment. AlenMed’s office is in Munich; the doctors we book patients with work across Germany.
What a Consultation in English Covers — and What It Does Not
A consultation in English covers the core conversation: the doctor explains findings, treatment options and risks in English. Consent forms, nursing handovers, reception and discharge letters, however, are mostly in German.
A hospital stay is more than the consultation. Nurses on the ward, physiotherapists and the pharmacy are where language support is often needed, because these conversations happen every day and without notice. At discharge you receive a doctor’s letter in German (Arztbrief) that summarises the diagnosis and treatment, and your doctor back home will need a translation of it.
When a decision is complex, older relatives are involved or the patient is a child, English may not be enough, and an interpreter in the patient’s own language can make the conversation calmer for everyone.
How to Check a Doctor’s Languages
The most reliable checks are an official doctor search and a direct question when booking. The regional physicians’ chambers (Landesärztekammern) and the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigungen) run online doctor searches, and some of them allow filtering by language. The extended doctor search for Baden-Württemberg, run by the association in that state, for example has a “Fremdsprachen” (foreign languages) field that includes English.
A biography that lists years at a hospital in the USA or the UK is a good sign but not proof: training abroad does not by itself mean that the consultation will be in English. When you book, ask whether the consultation itself will be held in English.
Doctors in Our Directory with English
In our directory, English is recorded for several heads of department in Hamburg and Bad Wildungen. At the Catholic Marienkrankenhaus in Hamburg, four heads of department speak German and English: Prof. Matthias Reeh (general, visceral, thoracic and vascular surgery), Prof. Christian R. Habermann (diagnostic and interventional radiology), Prof. Adrian Münscher (ENT) and Prof. Michael Rink (urology). At the same hospital, Assoc. Prof. Ahmed Farouk Abdelkawi, head of the women’s clinic (gynaecology, gynaecological oncology and breast surgery), speaks German, English and Arabic. Dr. Dimitrios Skambas, medical director and head of urology at Asklepios Stadtklinik Bad Wildungen, speaks German, English and Greek.
Other doctors in the directory trained or worked in English-speaking countries; these are facts from their biographies, not a statement about the language of their consultations. In Berlin, Prof. Volkmar Falk, medical director of the German Heart Center at Charité (DHZC) and a heart surgeon, worked at Stanford University in 1999–2000. Prof. Ulf Landmesser, deputy medical director of the DHZC and director of the Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Intensive Care Medicine, completed a fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta and was an honorary professor at University College London in 2012–2014. In Frankfurt, Prof. Georg Bartsch, head of the urology department at AGAPLESION MARKUS KRANKENHAUS, held a research fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston in 1999–2002.
AlenMed confirms the language of the consultation with every doctor before booking.
English-Speaking Doctors by City
The easiest place to start looking for an English-speaking doctor in a particular city is that city’s hospitals page. For Berlin, the page on hospitals in Berlin brings together the hospitals and doctors from our directory. Hamburg has its own overview of hospitals in Hamburg. For Frankfurt, see the page on hospitals in Frankfurt. Cologne’s hospitals and doctors are listed on the page on hospitals in Cologne.
Lists of English-speaking practices by city district, kept by expat communities and review sites, are a starting point, not a check: the doctor’s language is still confirmed when booking, as described above.
Seeing a Doctor in Germany as an Expat or Visitor
Everyday complaints usually start at a GP practice (Hausarzt), and the bill is paid either by German insurance or by the patient. Specialists (Fachärzte) work in their own practices and in hospital outpatient clinics. With German statutory insurance many specialists can be seen directly, but some take patients only with a GP’s referral (Überweisung); a patient who pays privately books a specialist directly. Practices usually work by appointment: you book by phone, on the practice website or through online booking portals, some of which show the languages a doctor speaks. Office hours differ from practice to practice.
An expat insured in Germany shows the health insurance card at the practice. A visitor without German insurance is, as a rule, billed as a private patient and should check beforehand whether the travel policy covers the visit; the details are on our page on healthcare in Germany for foreigners. Outside office hours the on-call medical service on 116117 helps, and in an emergency you call 112.
Frequently asked questions
Do doctors in Germany speak English?
Many do, especially in university hospitals and large cities, but it depends on the individual doctor rather than on the hospital as a whole. A doctor may discuss diagnosis and treatment fluently in English while reception, nurses and documents remain German. That is why you ask when booking whether the consultation itself will be in English. For complex decisions it is calmer to arrange an interpreter in advance.
Do I need a referral to see a specialist in Germany?
With German statutory insurance, usually not: many specialists can be seen directly. Some, however, accept patients only with a GP’s referral (Überweisung), so ask about it when you book. A patient who pays privately does not need a referral. A visitor without German insurance is usually billed as a private patient — our page on healthcare in Germany for foreigners explains who pays.
What do I do if I need a doctor at night or at the weekend?
Call the on-call medical service on 116117: it helps with illness outside practice hours — in the evening, at weekends and on public holidays — and the line is open around the clock. The service tells you where to go, for example to the nearest on-call practice (Bereitschaftspraxis). If the situation is life-threatening, call 112 straight away for the emergency services.
How AlenMed Finds an English-Speaking Doctor in Germany
AlenMed first chooses the specialist and hospital for the medical question and confirms English second: a doctor who speaks English but is not the right specialist is not a solution. The patient sends the findings, and we use them to find the department that deals with exactly this kind of case. How the trip itself works — records, invitation, visa — is explained on the page on how to arrange treatment in Germany.
We then agree the dates, support the visa application, arrange interpreters for Russian or Arabic when needed, translate German reports and help with accommodation. The hospital invoices the patient as a private patient, according to its own estimate.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer; the treatment plan is decided by the doctor at an in-person consultation.