German University Hospitals: What They Are and Who Needs Them

German university hospitals are hospitals attached to university medical faculties, where patient care runs alongside teaching and research. Their doctors teach and do research, and the hospitals take on even the rarest and most severe cases.

This page is for patients with a complex diagnosis and their families. Below the article you will find the cards of the university hospitals AlenMed works with.

How a University Hospital Differs from Other Hospitals

A university hospital differs in its level of care, in teamwork on difficult cases and in its own research. As a rule it is a maximum-care hospital (Maximalversorgung), with practically every specialty, intensive care and round-the-clock emergency admission in one place. If a complication involving another organ arises, the right specialist is in the next building, not in another city.

Difficult cases are discussed jointly: in cancer centres the treatment plan is set at a tumour board (Tumorboard), where a surgeon, an oncologist, a radiation oncologist and other specialists meet. University hospitals usually also run centres for rare diseases for patients whose diagnosis has long remained unclear. Clinical guidelines support these decisions; in Germany they are developed by the scientific medical societies and published in the AWMF guideline register (in German).

University hospitals also test new medicines and methods in clinical trials. When standard options are exhausted, a patient may be offered a place in one; the doctor decides whether it is suitable, and taking part is voluntary and requires written consent.

Teaching Hospitals in Germany and University Hospitals

An academic teaching hospital in Germany (akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus) is a regular hospital where medical students train under an agreement with a university; it is not a university hospital. So the line “Akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus der Universität…” in a hospital’s name only shows a link to a university. Conversely, LMU Klinikum and TUM Klinikum are university hospitals named after the abbreviations of their universities.

Krankenhaus simply means “hospital”, Klinikum usually means a large hospital with many departments, university-run or municipal, and Klinik often means a single department within a hospital. Read more on how the German hospital system is organised.

When a University Hospital Is Worth the Trip

A university hospital is worth the trip when a disease is rare, severe or affects several organs at once. The same applies to organ and bone marrow transplantation, repeat surgery after unsuccessful treatment elsewhere, and cases in which several specialists need to assess the diagnosis together.

For a single routine planned operation or a check-up without a complex diagnosis, a university hospital is not necessary: a specialist or private hospital may offer a date sooner. See our article on private healthcare in Germany.

The downsides, honestly: there can be a wait to see the professor who heads the department, the campuses are large, and care comes from a team, so on ward rounds you will see different doctors rather than one.

Choosing a University Hospital by Diagnosis

Which are the best university hospitals in Germany? No single ranking answers that: you choose the department, not the brand. What counts is how often it performs your operation, whether it is a certified centre for your disease and whether a specialist there focuses on exactly that condition.

University hospitals exist in every part of the country. In the south, Munich has LMU University Hospital, with two campuses, Großhadern and the city centre, and about two thousand beds, as well as Rechts der Isar Hospital (TUM). Heidelberg University Hospital builds on a medical faculty whose history dates back to 1388. Tübingen and Freiburg are also in the south-west. In the north, UKE Hamburg Hospital has more than 80 clinics, outpatient clinics and institutes in 13 centres. Berlin has Charité Berlin, which includes the German Heart Center at Charité (DHZC). The east has Leipzig, whose medical faculty was founded back in 1415, and Dresden; the west has Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf and Essen.

If the diagnosis is disputed, start with a second opinion in Germany: with a German specialist’s assessment of the reports and scans, it is easier to choose the hospital and the department.

Frequently asked questions

Do German university hospitals accept patients from abroad?

Yes. Many university hospitals have an international office for requests from abroad. Patients without German health insurance pay for treatment themselves: the department reviews the medical reports and decides how it can help, then the hospital sends a cost estimate and proposes a date. Not every hospital bills foreign insurers directly — LMU, for example, states plainly that it does not.

Why does the hospital ask for payment in advance?

Because patients without German health insurance pay in advance on the basis of the cost estimate. At LMU an advance payment according to the estimate is required, and at the German Heart Center at Charité a treatment date is set once the money has reached the hospital’s account. The final amount can only be stated at the end of treatment.

Will the professor treat me personally?

Not necessarily. The professor usually heads the department and sets the treatment plan, but ward rounds and some operations are handled by other doctors on the team, including senior physicians (Oberarzt). Treatment by the head of department (Chefarztbehandlung) can be agreed in advance as a separately paid service — at LMU, for example, it is listed among the optional extra services.

Do I need to speak German?

No. International offices also correspond in English, and Charité’s service for international patients has native speakers of Arabic, Russian and other languages. Doctors speak German in consultations, so a medical interpreter is wise: the diagnosis, the risks of an operation and the instructions after discharge should be understood without gaps.

How AlenMed Arranges Treatment at a University Hospital

AlenMed handles the correspondence with university hospitals and compares their replies; the patient pays the hospital directly. Many university hospitals have an international office for patients from abroad (International Office or International Patient Office): it takes the request with the medical reports, passes it to the department, sends a cost estimate and sets a date. You can write to it directly, but then you compare the replies of different hospitals yourself. We translate the reports, send them to two or three suitable hospitals and compare the replies and cost estimates (Kostenvoranschlag); see arranging treatment in Germany.

We also help with the visa invitation, a medical interpreter and accommodation. The company office is in Munich, and partner hospitals are spread across Germany.

This material is for reference only and is not an offer. The treatment plan is decided by a doctor at an in-person consultation.