Hospitals in Germany: their number and types and the hospital selection process

Every year, a quarter of a million medical tourists come to Germany for treatment. They are attracted by the excellent standard of medical care with short waiting times for treatment and relatively low prices when compared to other developed countries. We will tell you what to expect in Germany clinics and how to choose the right one for a medical tourist.

How many hospitals are there in Germany?

Several years ago, Germany survived the COVID pandemic much easier than other European countries. The reason is that the country has many hospitals (more than two thousand), many doctors, medical equipment, and a better level of training of specialists.

Germany has twice as many intensive care units per capita as France, and four times as many as Italy and Spain. While Italy's healthcare system was overwhelmed by the number of severe patients during the pandemic and simply did not have enough hospital beds and ALV machines for all the patients, Germany had a relatively easy pandemic. Patient mortality was much lower because there were enough doctors and hospitals to care for everyone.

According to some economists, Germany has too many hospitals, which drives up healthcare costs. Some experts even recommend closing "unnecessary" clinics. However, the abundance of hospitals and doctors is only a good thing for medical tourists. They can come to Germany and receive medical care without having to wait in long lines for treatment. This is one of the reasons why not only people from countries with a low standard of healthcare, but also citizens of developed countries who could receive medical care of a similar quality in their home country, but simply cannot wait, come to Germany for their treatment. Waiting times for some procedures may take months or even years. In the UK, for example, you may have to wait several years for arthroplasty.

Types of clinics in Germany

There are four types of hospitals in Germany, which are owned by the government, private individuals and companies, and non-profit organizations. Public hospitals include municipal and university hospitals. They make up the majority of clinics in Germany.

Municipal hospitals run by local authorities are the most common.

Voluntary non-profit hospitals are mostly run by churches and may have a lower cost of healthcare than other clinics in the country.

Private hospitals are usually highly specialized. For example, they treat patients with sports injuries, infertility, eye diseases, prostate adenoma, etc. These clinics often use non-standard therapeutic approaches, which have certain advantages, but may also be more expensive.

According to the range of services provided in Germany, there are basic, regular, central, and maximum care clinics. The latter include large hospitals with more than 1,000 beds. These are mainly university hospitals. All medical disciplines are represented in these facilities. These hospitals also conduct clinical trials. You can take part in these if standard treatments have been exhausted.

Hospital selection process

The first step in choosing a clinic is to determine the purpose of your trip to Germany: it may be for diagnosis, medication therapy, surgery, wellness, rehabilitation, and possibly certain procedures that have already been prescribed by a doctor, but are not available in your home country.

The best medical services are available at university hospitals. However, some patients may find municipal, church, or private hospitals more appropriate. It all depends on the diagnosis or symptoms. You are welcome to have a consultation with a Booking Health medical tourism specialist to make the right choice. We will advise you which clinic is the best place to be treated based on your clinical case.

You can use the Booking Health service to make an appointment for your check-up and treatment in Germany on your preferred dates and at the best price. Since there are no additional fees for foreign patients, the cost of services will be lower for you. You will have insurance that protects you from unexpected medical expenses, so the initial price of the medical program for you will not increase after your treatment begins.