General information
The benefits of social health insurance in Germany:

• Medical treatment

• Dental treatment

• Treatment in hospital and hospitalisation

• Medicines, medical equipment, and other remedies

• Important medical check-ups & courses in preventive care

A federally mandated co-payment is required for a few services, such as: medicines (5-10 Euros) and hospitalization (10 Euros per day for a maximum of 28 days).

Your insurance fund will issue you with a health insurance card ("Krankenversichertenkarte"). This card  needs to be taken with you whenever you visit a doctor, dentist or specialist.

Please find here an illustrated health dictionary where you can find information for international students in Germany.  The health dictionary provides a general overview information in English for foreign students. Among other things, it deals e.g. with health insurance, doctor's visits and what to do in an emergency.

Finding a doctor
In case you feel generally unwell (have a flue/have a headache/fever) and need to see a doctor you should see a primary care doctor (“Hausarzt”) first. These doctors can recommend treatment for most common illnesses and will refer you to a specialist if needed. If you already know that your illness needs to be treated by a specialist of course you can contact these specialists directly.

You are generally free to choose any doctor or hospital in Germany. They just have to be registered with the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (“Kassenärztliche Vereinigung”). Look for a sign in the surgery saying “Kassenarzt” or “Alle Kassen” (some doctors only treat private patients; in this case you would have to pay for treatment)

When searching for a suitable doctor, it is useful to ask your fellow students for recommendations. If you need consultation in English: One website that has an English language search page is www.med-kolleg.de.

Sometimes general practitioners have an open door policy so that patients can just come by without a prior appointment. Of course this also applies to emergencies. Others operate an appointment system, so you’ll need to phone the practice for making an appointment. However, it is strongly recommended that you make an appointment by phone beforehand to avoid long waiting times. If it is urgent you will be given an appointment immediately or on the same day; if it is not you may have to wait for a few days or sometimes even weeks.

Don’t forget to take along your health insurance card to your appointment.
Please note: If you are insured with TK and have not received your insurance card yet: Of course you can visit a doctor as of your first day of membership (first day of your enrollment: Sept 01). In this case just take a confirmation from TK with you.

Payment
If you have a public insurance, the practice will send the bill direct to your health insurance provider; you do not have to do anything. Only if you have a private insurance (for international students only possible if 30 years or older), you will pay upfront and be reimbursed by your insurance company later.

Drugs and Medication
Medicine is sold by pharmacies (“Apotheken”). Drug-dispensing laws are quite strict in Germany, therefore medicines that may be prescription-free in your home country can only be purchased on prescription in Germany.Please check the regulations here.

Statutory health insurance will cover the costs of most prescription drugs, but you may have to pay a small fee.

Hospitals
Except for emergencies, you will need to be referred by a doctor for a hospital treatment. In case a treatment in a hospital is required you will have to pay a fixed charge of €10 per day (maximum of 28 days in a year) when staying in a hospital.

In an emergency
If your medical practice is closed (e.g. on the weekends), there are always emergency services and pharmacies that can help you. Please find more information here (website is in german).