ENThe main Homburg hospital in Germany is Saarland University Hospital (Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes, UKS) in Homburg (Saar), run together with Saarland University’s medical faculty.
This page explains what kind of hospital it is and who it suits, how to send a request from abroad, and which AlenMed partner hospitals in Heidelberg and Frankfurt can receive the same documents in parallel. First, though, a word on which Homburg is meant, since Germany also has a Bad Homburg near Frankfurt.
Which Homburg: Saar or Bad Homburg
The university hospital is in Homburg (Saar), not in Bad Homburg. Homburg (Saar) is a town in south-west Germany, in the state of Saarland near the French border, and it is the town of the university hospital. In German addresses it appears as “Homburg/Saar” or “Homburg (Saar)”.
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is a different place altogether: a spa town near Frankfurt am Main, in the state of Hesse, and the word “Bad” in German town names marks a spa. Readers looking for a hospital there should see our overview of hospitals in Frankfurt, which covers partner hospitals in and around the city.
What we know about Saarland University Hospital
Saarland University Hospital is a maximum-care hospital (Maximalversorgung) where patient care, the training of future doctors and research happen in one organisation, and that research lays the groundwork for future diagnostic and treatment methods. As Germany’s federal health portal explains, university hospitals usually employ specialists from all medical disciplines, so they are also able to treat particularly serious and complicated medical conditions. It is the main hospital in Saarland for complex cases, and it suits patients with a difficult or rare diagnosis who need several specialists at once. How such hospitals differ from others is explained on our page on university hospitals in Germany.
So that doctors from different specialties can treat a patient together, the hospital’s departments are grouped into interdisciplinary centres. They include the University Medical Centre for Tumour Diseases of Saarland (Universitätsmedizinisches Zentrum für Tumorerkrankungen des Saarlandes), which brings together, for example, centres for breast cancer (Brustkrebszentrum), lung cancer (Lungenkrebszentrum), digestive tumours (Viszeralonkologisches Zentrum) and childhood cancer (Kinderonkologisches Zentrum). There is also a transplant centre (Transplantationszentrum), a children’s heart centre (Kinderherzzentrum), where paediatric cardiologists and paediatric heart surgeons work, and a centre for rare diseases (Zentrum für Seltene Erkrankungen am UKS). Five internal medicine clinics form the Centre for Internal Medicine (Zentrum für Innere Medizin), from oncology and haematology to cardiology and kidney and lung diseases, while the Surgical Centre (Chirurgisches Zentrum) includes heart surgery (Klinik für Herzchirurgie), neurosurgery (Klinik für Neurochirurgie) and thoracic surgery (Klinik für Thoraxchirurgie).
Saarbrücken, the state capital, has hospitals of its own; how the different types of German hospitals work and how to choose one for a diagnosis is covered in our directory of hospitals in Germany. Another hospital in the region is the Kaiserslautern hospital in neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate, which has a page of its own.
Partner hospitals in neighbouring states
If the case can also be treated outside Homburg, the request can go at the same time to an AlenMed partner university hospital in Heidelberg or Frankfurt am Main. These are university hospitals too, where treatment, medical training and research go hand in hand. Heidelberg University Hospital is in Baden-Württemberg; according to its annual report for 2024, it has 2,589 beds.
University Hospital Frankfurt am Main is a public-law institution of the state of Hesse, meaning a public rather than a private hospital, with more than 1,350 beds.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Homburg hospital in Germany?
Saarland University Hospital is in the town of Homburg (Saar) in south-west Germany, in the state of Saarland near the French border. The hospital and Saarland University’s medical faculty share their own campus south of Homburg. Do not confuse the town with Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, a spa town near Frankfurt am Main in another state, with different hospitals. If in doubt, check the address on the referral or in the hospital’s letter.
Is Homburg hospital a university hospital?
Yes, it is the hospital of Saarland University’s medical faculty. It treats patients, trains medical students and carries out research, and it provides maximum care (Maximalversorgung): it also takes on complex cases that need doctors from several specialties. Its centres include cancer, transplant, children’s heart and rare disease centres, and its internal medicine and surgical clinics are grouped into centres of their own.
How can a patient from abroad be treated at Homburg hospital?
Through a request with medical records: the relevant department of the hospital decides on admission. AlenMed translates the records into German, sends them with the scans to the right department and passes the reply on to the patient. If the hospital agrees to treat, it sends a cost estimate; after the deposit to its account, a visa invitation is arranged, and we organise an interpreter and accommodation for the stay.
Can a request go to other hospitals besides Homburg?
Yes. If the case allows, AlenMed sends the request to Homburg and at the same time to a partner hospital, Heidelberg University Hospital or University Hospital Frankfurt am Main. There, too, the relevant department decides on admission. Each hospital sends its own reply and estimate, and the patient compares them and chooses where to be treated. All the hospitals receive the same translated records, so nothing has to be collected twice.
How AlenMed arranges treatment in Homburg
AlenMed translates the medical documents, such as discharge summaries, doctors’ reports and test results, into German and sends the request to the right department in Homburg and, where the case suits, at the same time to a partner hospital in Heidelberg or Frankfurt. The department decides on admission itself after reviewing the records and scans, and tells the patient through us what it proposes, for example a consultation, tests or admission straight away.
Once the hospital is ready to take the patient, it sends a cost estimate showing which tests and treatment are planned. The deposit is paid directly into the hospital’s account, after which the visa invitation is arranged. We organise an interpreter for consultations and accommodation for the stay. Saarland University Hospital is not an AlenMed partner hospital: our office is in Munich, and our partner hospitals are across Germany.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer. The treatment plan is decided by the doctor at a face-to-face consultation.