Dgermany has many doctors, in relation to the number of inhabitants there are actually a lot. Around 80,000 of them have established themselves as specialists with their own practice, as specialists in ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat disorders, orthopedics or gynaecology, for example. But the Germans also go to a specialist very, very often. That is why the ear, nose and throat practice in the north-west of Frankfurt, which we contacted for this article, is not offering its next free appointment until May 31st.
By the way, private patients get there earlier. You only have to wait three days, not 13 weeks. But this difference is not the point here. Instead, we want to describe two ways in which people with statutory health insurance can get an appointment with a specialist more easily and quickly.
If you don’t know the problem from your own experience, you can empathize with some data. In its most recent patient survey, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians determined that 40 percent of all patients wait longer than three days for a doctor’s appointment; since 2008 this proportion has increased by almost a third. And “more than three days” can mean many things. In a study conducted by the RWI economic research institute, internists and ear specialists determined an average waiting time of 25 days. Not counting the frustrating hours spent calling the doctor’s office.
There’s a surprisingly simple tip for anyone who wants to save themselves that. If you want to get there faster, you have to make sure that this is also worthwhile for the doctor.
Bribery? It’s much more elegant
Of course, we would never recommend bribery in the FAS, for example an envelope with banknotes on the doctor’s office counter. This is more elegant in the German healthcare system. For a number of years, the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians have been running their own appointment service for this purpose. The legislator has obliged them to do something about the frustration of waiting for many patients. This switching service can be reached under the telephone number 116117 and – more conveniently because there is no queue – on the Internet at the address 116117.de or with the smartphone app 116117.
In addition to the required specialty, you enter your own place of residence and an e-mail address for identification. An authentication code is sent to this address in no time at all – and as soon as you have entered this, the database normally suggests an appointment, which can also be reserved immediately by clicking on it. This works in an uncomplicated way and with a clear incentive system. For every arranged appointment, the health insurance companies let something jump in the name of their contributors. The doctors get a surcharge for the treatment, the amount of which is graded according to how quickly the appointment came about – officially, not in the envelope. The maximum amount for an appointment is given the following day, after which it gradually decreases up to the 35th day.