Doctors in Germany: Who Will Actually Treat You

Doctors in Germany who treat patients from abroad are the same heads of department, consultants and specialists who treat local patients; you reach them through the relevant department, which first reviews your records. So you are looking not for a country or a building but for the person who will take on your case. Treatment is not done by a hospital in the abstract but by a particular doctor. Below are the specialists we work with: their field, where they practise and what they actually do. We do not promise “that famous professor” in advance — first we look at your documents and then say who really deals with your case.

This page explains how to read German medical posts and titles, how to check a specialist yourself and what to ask before you travel; the directory of doctors by hospital follows below.

How medical posts work in a German hospital

A German hospital department is run by a Chefarzt, its units by Oberärzte, and most of the daily work is done by specialists (Fachärzte) and doctors in training (Assistenzärzte). The Chefarzt heads the department, allocates the work and usually takes on the most complex cases. An Oberarzt is a senior consultant in charge of a unit, such as intensive care; the leitender Oberarzt is the head’s permanent deputy. A Facharzt is a fully qualified specialist. An Assistenzarzt already holds a licence to practise but is still training in a specialty under supervision. At the operating table the lead surgeon is usually a specialist, often an Oberarzt, with a doctor in training assisting.

The formal marker that matters is not a title but the Facharzt qualification. A medical doctor in Germany becomes a Facharzt only after five to six years of supervised work and an oral examination before a committee of three physicians at the state medical chamber (Landesärztekammer). Only then may the doctor use a designation such as “Facharzt für Urologie”. The German Medical Association describes this training.

“Prof.”, “PD” and “Dr. med.” are academic and teaching titles, not a measure of surgical skill. “Dr. med.” is a doctorate for a dissertation, often written at medical school, and has no bearing on the right to practise. A Privatdozent, or PD, has completed a second and larger research qualification, the Habilitation, and may teach at a university. “Prof.” is either a university post or a title the university confers on a Privatdozent for years of teaching and research. These titles are most common at university hospitals in Germany, which combine care with teaching and research. A professor may not have operated for years, while an untitled Oberarzt may perform your very operation every week.

Why “the best doctor in Germany” is the wrong question

Because Germany has no official ranking of doctors: neither the state nor the medical chambers rank them. Type “best doctor in Germany” or “best doctors in Germany” into a search box and you will find lists compiled by magazines according to their own methods, for example from peer recommendations and publication counts. Such a list may suggest a name, but it says nothing about whether this doctor treats your condition, or how often.

What works instead are signs you can check: how narrow the specialisation is, how many cases of the same kind are treated each year, whether the department is a certified centre (Zentrum) for your diagnosis and whether a board reviews the case. For some complex planned operations, such as pancreatic surgery, knee replacement or liver transplants, Germany sets binding minimum volumes (Mindestmengen), and as a rule a hospital that does not reach them may not perform these operations. Cancer centres certified by the German Cancer Society and EndoCert joint replacement centres must pass an audit every year. In a certified cancer centre a patient’s case is, as a rule, discussed by doctors from several specialties at a joint conference, the Tumorkonferenz.

Nationality is no argument either: a strong heart surgeon will not help with a brain tumour, nor an experienced neurosurgeon with a heart defect. The choice starts from the diagnosis, not from a name or a country: first the illness and the treatment under discussion, then a department that treats it regularly, and only then the doctor within it.

How to check a doctor before you travel

Before you travel you can check four things yourself: the specialist qualification, the post, certificates and publications. The qualification is usually stated on the doctor’s page on the hospital website, where “Facharzt für …” should match your condition. The post shows what the doctor does daily: a head of urology does not necessarily perform your operation. Certificates from German specialist societies back experience with numbers; in a joint replacement centre, for instance, a lead surgeon (Hauptoperateur) must perform a set number of operations each year. Publications can be found by surname in PubMed; they show research interests, not clinical practice.

In the department, look at its profile, its equipment, the number of procedures of your kind and whether a board meets. German hospitals must publish an annual quality report (Qualitätsbericht) listing their equipment and, for each department, its staff and the procedures performed with their numbers. A separate page compares the types of hospitals in Germany. Good departments follow clinical guidelines (Leitlinien) written by the German specialist societies and collected in the open AWMF guideline register. A guideline is a corridor of decisions rather than a rigid protocol, so it is fair to ask whether the proposed plan follows it.

Before you arrive, ask a few direct questions. Who exactly will operate: the doctor you were told about, or a colleague? Who looks after you afterwards, including at night and at weekends? What happens if there is a complication, and does the hospital have intensive care that can handle it? How often has the doctor seen a case like yours?

Language, a second opinion and writing to the doctor

Conversations in a German hospital are held in German and, with some doctors, in English, so without fluent German or English you need a medical interpreter. If your English is confident, English-speaking doctors in Germany are an option. A medical interpreter knows the terminology, translates accurately without softening anything and accompanies you to consultations, examinations and the signing of consent forms. A relative with everyday German rarely copes: talk of risks is full of technical terms, doses and probabilities, and under stress relatives paraphrase and soften bad news. Yet German law obliges the doctor to explain the nature, risks and alternatives of a procedure in a way the patient understands.

A remote second opinion is a written assessment by a German doctor of the records you send, before any travel. For a second opinion from a German doctor you need recent reports, test results, the CT, MRI or PET images themselves in DICOM format, the pathology report if there was a biopsy and a list of your medicines, translated into German or English. The doctor replies in writing whether he or she agrees with the diagnosis and the plan, what is missing and whether the trip makes sense.

A German doctor starts by verifying the diagnosis rather than executing someone else’s plan, because the doctor is responsible for the treatment he or she carries out and must explain to the patient why an operation is needed and what its prospects are given the diagnosis. So images are reviewed, pathology slides are sometimes requested for a second look, and some tests are repeated on site. An examination in the hospital often refines the plan made at home and sometimes changes it, so be prepared for changes in timing and cost.

Doctors by field: where to go next

From here, go by the field of your condition: orthopaedics and trauma surgery, neurosurgery, oncology, urology, cardiology and paediatrics each have pages of their own on the site. Joint, bone and injury specialists are covered on the page about orthopaedic surgeons in Germany, brain and spine surgery on “Neurosurgeon in Germany”. For the other fields, type the specialty into the search above the directory.

The directory below is organised by hospital; doctors in private practice or outside our partner hospitals are listed at the end. You can search it by name, specialty or hospital, and each doctor has a page giving the field and the place of work.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find a good doctor in Germany?

You find one through your diagnosis rather than through lists of famous names. Find departments that regularly treat your condition and hold a certificate from the relevant specialist society, then the doctor there who handles such cases. Send your records to several suitable departments and compare the answers: what they propose, who will treat you and why.

Can I choose a specific doctor at a German hospital?

Yes, you can ask for a particular doctor by name, and after reviewing your records the department replies whether he or she will take the case. Treatment by the head of department personally is agreed in writing in advance as an additional paid service (Wahlleistung). Even then, anaesthetists, radiologists and other colleagues do part of the work.

Do I need to be treated by a professor?

No. The title reflects research and teaching, not how many operations the doctor performs today. What matters is a Facharzt in the right field who regularly treats your condition, in a department with the appropriate certificate. That doctor is often a professor, especially at a university hospital, but choose by experience with your diagnosis, not by title.

How AlenMed selects the doctor

AlenMed selects the doctor from the diagnosis and the records you send, not from the loudness of a name. The company works with 86 partner hospitals in 38 cities in Germany and 345 doctors, and its office is in Munich. We first read the reports and images, establish which department and specialist really deal with such cases and only then name a doctor, so nobody is promised “that famous professor” in advance.

The company translates the records, sends the enquiry to the right department, arranges the appointment, helps with the visa invitation, meets you on arrival and provides a medical interpreter. The invoice for treatment comes directly from the hospital, and treatment decisions are made by its doctors.

The details of where these doctors work and what posts they hold were checked when these pages were written, but doctors move between hospitals — we confirm where they are currently working at the time of your enquiry. This page is for information only and is not an offer; the treatment plan is set by the doctor at an in-person consultation.

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