ENA neurologist in Germany is the «nerve doctor» you were looking for. You write to a German hospital about a nerve doctor, a page headed Neurologie comes back, and it is not obvious that the enquiry landed where it was meant to. It did: this is the same specialty, and in Germany it is simply called Neurologie.
This page is about the doctor and the appointment: what a German neurologist deals with, how the specialty differs from its neighbours, what an appointment looks like and what to bring. The diseases themselves and how they are treated are covered in the overview of neurology treatment in Germany.
What a neurologist is in the German system
A neurologist in Germany is a Facharzt für Neurologie: a doctor who, after medical school, has completed separate specialist training in disorders of the brain, the spinal cord, the nerves and the muscles. In plain words, Facharzt means «specialist doctor» and für Neurologie means «in neurology».
The work covers headache, dizziness, numbness and weakness in the arms or legs, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, the consequences of a stroke and pain caused by nerve damage.
What a neurologist does not do is operate or manage a psychiatric illness as the primary diagnosis. If an operation on the brain, spinal cord, spine or a nerve is needed, a neurosurgeon performs it; a psychiatric illness as the main diagnosis belongs to the psychiatrist. The border is thin, though, and patients are often seen by both. The surgical side is covered on the page about the neurosurgeon in Germany.
What an appointment looks like
An appointment with a neurologist is mostly conversation, and the conversation usually takes longer than the examination. The doctor asks when the symptom started, what makes it worse and what makes it better, and which drugs have already been tried. For a foreign patient this means a real interpreter, not «a few words of English»: the difference between numbness and tingling is easily lost in a second language.
Then comes the neurological examination: reflexes, strength, sensation, coordination, gait, vision and eye movements. This is not a formality but the way of working out where the problem sits. From the pattern of the findings, the neurologist can tell whether to look for the cause in the brain, the spinal cord, a nerve or a muscle.
Next the doctor orders the tests the case needs: an MRI, nerve conduction studies and electromyography, which show how the nerves carry signals and how the muscles respond, an EEG, which records the electrical activity of the brain, or an analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid. Images brought from home are usually re-read in Germany and sometimes repeated. This is routine, not distrust of your doctors at home.
What to bring, and how to choose a doctor
Bring a translated discharge summary, imaging discs with the images themselves rather than just the reports, a list of medicines with doses, and a seizure or headache diary if you keep one. Without these documents the first appointment is often spent reconstructing the history.
Choose not by the word «best» but by what the department does every day: an epilepsy centre, a department with a stroke unit for patients with an acute stroke, a multiple sclerosis outpatient clinic. Among the heads of neurology departments are Prof. Andreas Steinbrecher, head of neurology at Helios Klinikum Erfurt, and Prof. Christoph Kleinschnitz, director of the department of neurology at Essen University Hospital. How multiple sclerosis, for example, is diagnosed and treated is set out in the current guideline of the German Society of Neurology, which is in German.
Part of neurological care happens in rehabilitation rather than on an acute ward: after a stroke or an injury, movement, speech and independence are rebuilt step by step in specialised clinics. How the stages work is described on the page about neurological rehabilitation in Germany.
Money and the practical side of the visit
A foreign patient is almost always a self-payer: the consultation and the investigations are billed separately, and the hospital gives a written estimate in advance. The doctor’s invoice and the hospital’s invoice are two separate documents. Without an examination, any figure would be unverified.
For the trip you need the hospital’s written reply, an invitation letter and a medical visa, and the hospital states the dates. Which papers are involved and what the consulate asks for is explained on the page about the medical visa for Germany.
Frequently asked questions
Is a nerve doctor the same as a neurologist in Germany?
Yes. «Nerve doctor» is an everyday way of describing a neurologist, and in Germany this specialist is called a Facharzt für Neurologie, working in a department named Neurologie. When you write to a German hospital, it is enough to say that you need a neurology appointment and to describe your symptoms and earlier tests briefly.
Do I need an interpreter if the neurologist speaks English?
You do, unless your own English is fluent. The heart of the appointment is a detailed conversation about your symptoms, and the exact words decide what the doctor looks for. An interpreter carries the difference between dizziness and unsteadiness, which «a few words of English» tend to lose. Check whether an interpreter will be present before you book.
Why do German doctors look again at scans done at home?
Because the neurologist needs to see for themselves what the conclusions will rest on. A report on a scan is another doctor’s opinion, while the German specialist compares the images with the findings of the examination. If the old images do not answer the question, the test is repeated, and that is routine. So bring the discs with the original files.
How AlenMed arranges the appointment
AlenMed sends your records and images to the department that deals with your particular problem, and the appointment is arranged there. AlenMed works with 86 partner hospitals in 38 German cities and 345 doctors, and its office is in Munich. Specialist profiles are collected on the page about doctors in Germany.
Ask in advance who will hold the appointment, how much time is allotted, whether an interpreter will be there, and what happens if further tests are needed: on the same trip or a later one, and who explains the results.
This material is for information only and is not an offer; the treatment plan is decided by a doctor at an in-person appointment.