The healthcare system itself is not run by the
government however. A collection of self-governing national and regional
associations provides staff and facilities, financed by the insurance
premiums. This system results in high quality facilities right across
the country, even in rural regions, and it is rare to have to wait long
for treatment. Germany boasts over 2000 hospitals, including 37
university hospitals.
The German Tourist Board actively promotes healthcare
tourism to take advantage of these excellent facilities, and hospitals
are encouraged to create programmes that support overseas visitors. In
2008, 68,000 people visited Germany for medical treatment from 169
countries around the world, and to meet this demand, around 10% of
German hospitals now have a dedicated department to deal with foreign
patients.
Specialist facilities include a world leading
diabetes centre at the University Carl Gustav Carus in Dresden, the
German Heart Centre in Munich, the Neurosurgical Clinic in Nuremberg,
the Technical University in Munich, which specialises in breast cancer
and the University Clinic in Dusseldorf, which specialises in cancer of
the lungs and digestive tract.
The German Tourist Board also promotes the wellbeing
aspects of healthcare tourism to Germany, promoting the many spas and
health resorts that offer natural remedies such as clay wraps, mineral
treatments and radon gas treatments, some of which are unique to the
country.
German healthcare may not be the cheapest in the world, but it is certainly hard to match in quality or efficiency.
Upon successful completion of this exam, surgeons are eligible to full membership of the
German Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (DGPRÄC),
formerly known as the Association of German Plastic Surgeons. It should
be noted that an ‘associated member’ can be a young physician in
training, so fully checking the credentials of membership is
recommended. The
Association of German Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (VDÄPC)
is a subsidiary of the German Society of Plastic Reconstructive and
Aesthetic Surgeons and it only allows surgeons who focus on aesthetic
surgery to join.
The institution where the board exam is taken is the Ärztekammer,
which has regional units. The national institution is the
Bundesärztekammer. In Bonn for example it is the
Ärztekammer Nordrhein, which is a similar institution to the General Medical Council (GMC). Cosmetic surgeons in Germany are often members of the
General Medical Council (GMC)
in London as well as Medical Doctor Chambers in Europe and private
clinics and hospitals are assessed and checked by the Gesundheitsamt,
which is comparable to the UK’s Healthcare Commission.
