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10 funny German medical words every expat should know

German is a tricky language to begin with, but things get really mind boggling when you need to see a doctor.

Published: 13 June 2018 09:44 CEST
10 funny German medical words every expat should know
Photo: pressmaster/Depositphotos

Seeking medical help can be nerve wracking at the best of times, even more so when the doctor is diagnosing you in a different language! If you’re an expat living in Germany but your Deutsche is nicht so gut, you might do well to brush up some on the relevant local lingo.

We’ve put our heads together with BDAE, a health insurance provider specialising in insurance packages for expats living in Germany, to shed light on some of the most common and bizarre German medical terms.

Expat in Germany? Click here to find the best healthcare insurance 

1. Facharzt

It might look similar to a rather rude English word, but Facharzt is the German equivalent of a specialist. Problems with each and every part of the body are handled by different types of Facharzt. From head to toe, with Psychologe (psychologists) to Podologe (podiatrists) and everything in between, the German medical system has a Facharzt for every part of your body.

2. Fachchinesisch

Some German doctors don’t translate the diagnosis from Latin medical terms, a (not-so) fun practice known as Fachchinesisch. If you’re one of the few expats that arrive in Germany armed with a medical degree, congratulations! The rest of you had better brush up on those Latin skills so that you don’t start planning your funeral when you’re diagnosed with an acute coryza (otherwise known as a common cold).

Photo: LKoch/Depositphotos

3. Fernbehandlungsverbot

Expecting to be able to find a doctor on the internet? You may have more luck finding a needle in a haystack. The majority of German doctors don’t have a website or an email address.

Waiting for that familiar ping of an SMS reminder 24 hours before your appointment? Don’t count on it. With a lack of digitalisation of medical services in Germany and Fernbehandlungsverbot (the prohibition of doctors to treat a patient without seeing them), you’ll just have to do it the old-fashioned way.

4. Götter in Weiß

Doctors and physicians  in Germany are exalted as Götter in Weiß (Gods dressed in white) and occupy an enormous amount of respect within German society. Not every medical professional has the title ‘Dr’, but those who do generally insist on being referred to as “Herr Dr.” followed by their surname.

5. Hausarzt/Hausarztprinzip

Hausarzt is a family doctor, otherwise known in English as a GP. If you fall ill during your stay in Germany, this is your first port of call. A warning: make an appointment before showing up. There can be long queues, and it’s not unheard of for patients to wait six months for a check up or routine appointment and you don’t want to be stuck in a Wartezimmer (private practice) waiting room for any longer than necessary. In Germany, there aren’t many public health centres, so it is extremely common for public patients to go to these private practices for treatment (Hausarztprinzip).

6. IGEL-Leistungen

Although igel is the German word for ‘hedgehog’, make no mistake, IGEL-Leistungen aren’t anywhere near as cute or fun as those spiky little fellows. In fact, it’s short for Individuelle Gesundheitsleistungen which is a document stating that you must pay for medical treatment yourself. We did warn you it wasn’t fun.

Make sure you’re covered with BDAE’s expat insurance

7. Kunstfehler

If a surgeon makes a minor error, such as accidentally cutting off the wrong leg, this malpractice is referred to as Kunstfehler. This uncharacteristically poetic German word literally translates to ‘art mistake’, although you probably won’t feel like a masterpiece as you hop out the hospital on one leg.

Photo: baranq/Depositphotos

8. Mehrbettzimmer

So, you’ve ended up in hospital and the prospect of sharing a room with the guy who snores and the woman who has her TV too loud doesn’t fill you with excitement. Not to worry! In German hospitals these shared rooms, called Mehrbettzimmer hold a maximum of three people but usually there are only two patients per room.

9. Rentenalter

In 2009, Germany abolished compulsory Rentenalter (retirement age) for doctors to combat the shortage of medical professionals in rural areas. As there are no age restrictions, it’s increasingly common to be treated by older physicians, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself being treated by an 80-year-old doctor, especially outside of the big cities.

10. Zwei-Klassen-Medizin

Zwei-Klassen-Medizin means that if you’re a Privatpatient (private patient) rather than a Kassenpatient, (a patient covered by the national health insurance scheme) you receive special treatment, such as shorter waiting periods and treatment by senior physicians. You can only become a private patient if you are self-employed or earn more than 59,400 euros per year.

BDAE offers a comprehensive range of health insurance packages for expats living in Germany. Find one that suits your situation so that you know you’re covered, whatever health issues you may face.

This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio and sponsored by BDAE

 
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HEALTH

How to find available therapists in Germany

It’s no secret that mental health care can be particularly tricky to access in Germany. Here are some helpful tips for anyone who is struggling to book an appointment for therapy.

Published: 23 April 2024 12:55 CEST
How to find available therapists in Germany

The process to find psychotherapy in Germany’s urban centres is arduous – licensed therapists often have impossibly long wait times, and private practices don’t accept public health insurance.

A major reason that public insurance funded mental health care is hard to find in Germany comes down to regulations. Specifically the ‘coverage plan’ (Bedarfsplanung) that basically limits the number of licences available for publicly insured therapists in a region.

Germany’s maddening bureaucracy probably won’t be fixed any time soon. So residents in need of therapy will need to find a way through the system as it is.

So here are a few helpful tips for finding therapists, as well as how publicly insured patients can have private practice therapy costs reimbursed.

Look for therapists enrolled at academies

You’ll probably have a better chance getting an appointment with therapists who are currently in training, because not everyone knows that this option exists.

You can search for “Akademie für Psychotherapie”, to find one in your location. The Berliner Akademie für Psychotherapie, is one in the capital city, for example.

If you arrange an appointment this way, you can expect to be connected with a grad student therapist in training who needs to complete their supervised practice hours. In this case, you would see your therapist as usual, and they will be going through your session with an experienced therapist afterward.

The main advantages to seeking a therapist in training is that it may be cheaper and you can probably more readily find an appointment. A potential disadvantage is that the therapist you’ll be seeing is less experienced. 

But according to a Stockholm University study, student therapists who receive regular feedback from supervisors may be just as effective as licensed therapists at treating patients.

How to get reimbursed for going to a private practice

As mentioned above, therapists covered by public health insurance are few and far between, especially in many urban centres, and therefore regularly come with long wait times. But for those willing to do battle with the bureaucracy, there is an option to have your costs reimbursed for seeing a private practice therapist.

Specifically, public insurance providers are obligated to provide full reimbursement of costs in the event of a “supply emergency”. 

Waiting times of more than three months are considered unreasonable. So generally, patients can claim a supply emergency if they have contacted several therapists, and none of them offered available appointments within that time frame.

But you’ll want to make sure that your process is properly documented so that you won’t be stuck with the out-of-pocket costs.

First, you’ll need to document your need for psychotherapy. To get this, make an appointment for a psychotherapeutic consultation with a practice in your area, and be sure to collect a written recommendation for treatment (a PTV 11 form). 

If you don’t know where to start with this, look to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung) for a database of therapists. You can also call 116 117 or use the 116 117 App.

After you’ve got your PTV 11 certificate, you’ll need to document your futile search for a licensed therapist. To do this, contact at least three to five therapists that have public health insurance approval. Keep a list of the names of therapists you contacted, as well as dates and times of contact and how long the waiting list for treatment is. 

Additionally, you should try to arrange treatment through the aforementioned Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, and receive confirmation if it’s not possible. So you’ll need to call 116 117, or use the 116 117 App again. But this time go through the process to have them try to find you placement with a therapist. This should take a maximum of four weeks, but rarely happens.

Finally, if you have documented all of the above and have still not found a readily available therapist, then you can seek out a private practice. You’ll need to enroll as a self-paying patient initially, but then you can submit an application for an outpatient reimbursement (Kostenerstattungsverfahren) along with the previously collected certificates and proof of your search. Private practice therapists are usually familiar with this process, and may be able to help you with the application as well.

READ ALSO: What are the main reasons internationals in Germany turn to therapy?

Free phone consultations for students

Students in Berlin can also take advantage of a free 50-minute conversation with a therapist through StudierendenWERK.

For students elsewhere, it’s worth checking what kind of mental health support services your school offers. Many German universities offer mental health support to some extent, and if school counsellors can’t provide the care that you need, they may be able to offer helpful information about where such services are available in your area.

READ ALSO: Here’s how you can get mental health help in English in Germany

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