Pharmacies in Germany can only be run by a full blown Pharmacist with a University degree. And they and their staff are required to explain every medicine you get from them and to make sure they don't interact with each other. So, as Covid is still a thing, queues are still building up. And due to personal distance rules these queues may build up even to the outside. Before Covid there weren't so many people queuing.

The „secretaries“ in the entrance area of any practicioner in Germany are actually MTA‘s (literally like medical technical assistents) so they had a 3 year training to do the work with patients.

You said the USA has " some of the highest costs for medicines", no it has THE highest costs. Healthcare in the States seems to be all about making money for the already rich off the backs of everyone else.

After advertisements of medicine there is this mandatory disclaimer: "Zu Risiken und Nebenwirkungen lesen Sie die Packungsbeilage und fragen Sie Ihren Arzt oder Apotheker". "For risks and side effects read the package insert and ask your doctor and pharmacist". So pharmacists in Germany have an important role in interacting with the patients.

Basically to sum up your experience from what I heard in your video: USA has a health-*BUSINESS* Germany has health-*CARE* Also: those lines in front of pharmacies are only because of COVID restrictions (usually: wear masks, only 1 person per counter allowed inside... thus the lines outside)

About the pharmacies: If you have a favorite one which you will mostly always visit, ask them if they would set up a "Customer's File" for you. Not all but lots of pharmacies do so. It means, that they can easily see what your most prescribed medicine is, so they will keep it in stock for your next prescription. And in case the don't have something you need, they will offer you to either come back the next day or to deliver it to your house (in case you don't live on the other side of the city, too far away). There may be more benefits, but they differ from pharmacy to pharmacy.

Here's my experience in France and Spain. Visit a doctor in Paris, 25€, in Barcelona 80€, Dentist in Barcelona 50 - 125€ (depending on the procedure). All these were private doctors with no insurance on my part. Package of a week's worth of insulin 6€ in Spain (same package, same manufacturer 300$ in the US). Pharmacies all over Europe are awesome. Lines outside a German pharmacy are not a normal occurrence, I guess it has more to do with Covid restrictions.

Please, for your family's sake, if you intend to stay here in Germany for any length of time, try to switch to a German Krankenkasse, a sickness fund, or health insurance. If you and your wife both are working as employees, then yes, you will both require insurance, but your kids can be included among either of your insurances for free until they are 25. There are only minute differences in the services provided by a public/ Gesetzliche Krankenkasse, no matter which of the many providers you choose. But even as contractors (I saw that in a comment below) German private healthcare / Private Krankenkasse is STILL probably going to come a lot cheaper than in the US. What is included? Basically everything medical is included, except these three or four things: 1. Dental: most tooth reconstruction like fillings or actual replacement is only partially covered, and can run a bit expensive, depending on your region and insurance company: 2. Optical/glasses/lenses: only the actual lenses of the glasses are covered, and then also only the cheapest options, and only the cheapest frames for glasses. All other upgrade options you will have to pay. 3. Hospital stays: you will have to pay 10€ per day of hospital stay to cover your food expenses (that was considered the average spending for a person in Germany if you were not in hospital). This is capped at 240€ per YEAR of hospital stays. Yes, for 365 days, if something like a coma should occur. 4. Pharmacy: co-pay of 5€ for non-brand, and 10€ for brand pharmaceuticals on prescription. Unless you DEMAND a certain medication from your doctor despite them telling you not to use that. In that case the doctor MAY, possibly, give you a prescription that is NOT covered by your insurance. But then, why the hell would you demand a medical drug over the strict counter-opinion of a specialist? Some medications, in rare cases, are still in the experimental phase, or have not yet been included in the list of accepted drugs of the insurance companies, as their efficacy has not been sufficiently proven yet (or they simply have not passed local German application rules yet, but are available from outside Germany). In those rare cases, yes, you might have to pay full price for them, out of pocket and not be covered by your insurance. But your doctor will have to tell you that before prescribing you such a drug. What is not covered? Non-essential and plastic surgery that is not recovering from injury. Ie any kind of beauty or anti-aging treatments. Those are NOT covered, and always have to be paid out-of-pocket. However, plastic surgery after any kind of injury IS covered to restore the original state (or as much as is possible). As an employee you will pay 7.2% of your gross income, your employer another 7.8% of your gross income. This is usually automatically deducted from your pay-check by your employer, so you don't have to worry about paying this. /edit: that you had to wait in line at a pharmacy, especially out the door, is astonishing to me. While yes, some pharmacies limit the number of customers to the amount of service stalls they have, due to covid measures still in place, an actual line forming outside a pharmacy is, well, a bit strange. Pro-tip: usually here in Germany pharmacies crop up in the immediate vicinity to at least one major practice, in your case an ENT doctor. These pharmacies often specialise in the drugs regularly prescribed by those doctors, so it is very common for them to have all those usual pharmaceuticals directly in storage. If not, then they can order them from a central depot, usually within a few hours, or at the latest, by the next day. Not all pharmacies stock up on all medications, but only on those 'their' doctors in the immediate vicinity tend to use. So if you got to see a specialist, have a look around on the street close to the practice if you can find a pharmacy there. I'd bet in more than 99% of the cases that will be the case. Their pharmacists are also more well versed in those pharmaceuticals and can often give you excellent advice for any supplemental treatment for your specific case. ALL pharmacists here require a FULL education of at least three years and quite a rigorous exam to become a pharmacist. So they are almost as good at telling you about effects of pharmaceuticals as doctors; in some cases possibly even better.

I don‘t know what horror stories you`ve heard about german doctors, but we are known for having the best doctors here. Dozens of wealthy people from literally everywhere are flight in for surgeries.

So, you're telling that it's surprising people are doing their jobs. To me as a Finn, I expect professionals doing their job properly. More I see people from the USA tell their experiences in Europe, more I'm feeling negative about visiting USA some day.

It's the pharmacists job to make sure you aren't taking other medication that could interact with what you are getting now, either neutralising or emphasizing the effect, or even causing adverse effects.

Yep, those ladies at the front counter went through a very thorough apprenticeship (we have the dual-apprenticeship model in the German speaking countries) for a very specific profession called "Arzthelfer / Arzthelferin" (~ "doctor's / medical assistant"). The apprenticeship includes, obviously, a huge portion of data-handling, like billing and the handling of insurance-related data, as well as the handling of doctor's reports and medicinal data. The other huge portion of the apprenticeship includes medicinal services - like carrying out venipunctures, injections, allergy tests, ELISA tests and so forth. It is, in its core, a health-care profession, rather than just a mere job as a desk clerk. It's profoundly more than that.

In my experience, the good doctors have really nice/professional staff and if Front desk workers are rude and impatient the doctor is more of the same. Good rule of thumb to pre-select where you want to go.

Hi I'm an American and been living in Germany 26 years. Nice video, thanks for the objective view of things. You're right, Germans are generally a whole lot more friendly and engaging than the reputation they get through stupid war movie stereotypes. Btw, the "secretaries" at the doctor's office aren't secretaries, they're trained, certified medical assistants. I'm wondering what kind of insurance you have. If you have the standard insurance, you won't ever see any bills from the doctor or the insurance company.

The ladies at the front desk are not secretaries working as nurses, but Arzthelferinnen (literally doctor’s assistants) doing the paperwork as well. And they are required by law to explain your medication to you. Since you usually go to the same pharmacy every time, they may start to recognize you and know your regular medication and possible side-effects of additional medication. If there are known side effects of medication you are prescribed with other medication, they will usually ask, if you take other medication.

we went on holidays to France a few years ago and my husband got really sick. We went to the public clinic and everyone was SO nice and SO efficient. He got checked over, got his treatment and the doctor was incredibly nice and funny. We were in and out in a couple of hours. Swiss insurance doesn't cover you directly so we had to pay upfront and charge it in once we were back home. But it cost way less than we expected considering all the stuff they did for him.

You've to keep in mind, a carpenter in Germany is really a carpenter. Well trained in 3 years to a professional. The same for any other jobs. Therefore you'll meet pretty often well educated employees in pharmacy's ☺️

Probably 95% of the „secretaries“ or front desk ladies are actual nurses, trained for at least 3yrs and regularly retrained. They are the backbone of the healthcare system, like you said: tornadoing around, doing huge chunks of the work. Whereas in the US, GP’s front desk people are real secretaries doing only administration. 1/3 of the US health costs go into admin, highest number in any OECD country. Business 🤷🏽

I really enjoyed this video. Working at a pharmacy myself I can tell you, we really want to make sure that patients know as much as possible about the medication they have to take. Looking forward for more videos of your experiences in Germany and Europe.

That was a good experience you had with your doctor. As a German I must say, it is not always that way. Some doctors are good and caring, but some can also rush you.

when I was stationed in Germany in the mid-90s. it really changed my thought processes on the US medical system. in many ways it really coloured how I detested how the medical system is in the US. especially whenever i hear someone complaining about how many disabled Americans there are. a friend in Germany had a work-related accident. not only did she continue getting paid. her hospital was covered, including her rehabilitative care as she was in a rehabilitation centre for a while.

"It's a waste of time to do something mediocre." This is a quote from Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone (born August 16, 1958 in Bay City) an American singer, actress, songwriter, author and designer. Greetings from the Black Forest!

12:00 - those secretaries ARE Nurses ;-) .. and not just with some few weeks of training, they need to have a degree (at least 3 years of appranticeship) to be allowed to do such things

The people at the front desks are called doctor assistants they not only do the paperwork but preform and assist with certain procedures. So they are not nurses but having said that the nursing role is also different in Germany

Glad you had a good experience! As a German I'm glad I never had to think about going to a doctor. In 39 years of life I've paid under 400 Euros in medical fees and 320 of that were basically for choosing a better type of root canal at the dentist instead of getting the free one, and this also includes 2 trips to the ER by ambulance overnight stay at the hospital and probably around 10 other ER incidents where I could go there myself, MRT and CTs scans...the works. xD Life is hard enough without having to worry about if you can afford to fix your medical problems or not or have to go into debt over it. Happy to hear your family got through covid ok!

I'm Portuguese. Spent 2 months in the USA (Charlottesville, VA). I prayed every day so that I didn't get sick. As an European, I've heard so may horror stories about US health care. Actually I talked to many people about it when I was there and everybody complained about how much they had to pay just for an appointment.

Congratulations! Personally, my interactions with doctors in Germany are good. But there are better and worse folks … Don’t expect such a good experience all the time! But this experience was as it should be. The ladies at the front desk are educated as “MTA” that is “Medizinisch Technische Assistentin” or “Arzthelferin” which means they have a degree in something like nursing as well as the buerocratic stuff they have to do. Pharmacists in Germany actually have to tell you some of these things by law. Also: there is a fight against internet pharmacies here … and they really want to give you the additional value to have an argument against the internet competition.

Love your videos! I've been to the states many times and I wasn't completely surprised by some of your observations about the differences, but it's cool to see an outside view of the things we take for granted here. Good to hear you like living here!

Was watching another video and yours came up as a suggestion. This is a really good upload and story and I am glad you had such a positive experience. It’s been really interesting to hear about the German health system from the view of a patient and also to read the comments. Thanks dude.

i loved this video ^^ you seem so happy and enthusiastic about Germany :D hope you get well soon

I am chronically ill and need many expensive medications and treatments, I am very grateful to be in Germany, because in the U.S. I would probably have died a long time ago. We sometimes forget how grateful we can be and how well we are doing compared to other countries. Even we often complain that it could be even better, and yet many are not doing well. Compared to other countries, that's funny somehow.

Multiple languages among doctors or pharmacies are quite common. The doctor I go to also speaks greek and the pharmacy staff is fluent in english and turkish. It‘s quite easy to get medical treatment if you don‘t speak german.

You're so positive. Love your plants as well.

I'm from Pennsylvania, and I had a similar experience at an ER and pharmacy in France. I was amazed at how well I was treated and how little they charged me. I enjoy watching your channel. Keep up the good work.

You have to get health insurrance in Germany, even if you just moved here. Also your bill should be 0 but depending on the "Krankenkasse" (eg. Barmer or TK) you use, you can lookup online what costs they covered for you.

I am from Vaihingen and mein HNO ist Dr. Keitel. Great Doctor and great Team. I love your videos. Great to listen to someone who has another point of view on everything in my hometown 😊

I'm so glad you had a great experience. It's reassuring, since we'll have to go to German doctors next month and had similar concerns about the process. Thanks for the video!!

Happy to see that you had a good experience with our German health care system! It's not untypical, though. Of course friendliness and dedication may differ from place to place, but the quality of care is quite high generally. The difference in the speed of visits between the U.S. and Germany may in part be due to the way doctors are paid. The initial examination, the allergy test and the consultation are paid separately by the health insurance companies (it's a complex system though with clear time definitions regarding consults). If you have a German health insurance with the public system, you shouldn't get any bill at all. For what you describe regarding your visit to the doctor's office, I wouldn't have to pay a penny. If your insurance is a private one, on the other hand, you will get a bill that you have to pay up front, and then you can send it in to your insurance company and get it reimbursed. This is what the monthly health premium is used to pay for. Some American politicians call it socialist, we call it social market economy. There are additional co-pay costs for prescribed medication that typically vary from 0 to 10 € per medicine item depending on - well, several things. The rest of what the pharma company will be paid again comes from your health care insurance. Alternatives for a prescribed medication may be offered if the product is actually the same and contracts between your insurance company and pharma companies allow for it. By "shipping" the pharmacist probably meant to send by courier. Most pharmacies either employ or use the service of couriers in compact cars - you can see them whizzing around city centres with the pharmacies' logos and information on them. Staff in doctors' offices are vocational workers (either MTA's, as was mentioned in a comment below, or MFA's - Medizinische(r) Fachangestellte(r) = Medical Care Specialist) with a 3-year training. Staff in pharcamcies usually have a 4-year college degree in pharmacy (at least one has to be present by law iirc) and are obliged by law to make sure patients understand the effects and side effects of the drugs they sell.

Great you made so good experiences. I have the luxury of always choosing quite instinctively the very apt doctors for my patricular health issues, and being a German and despite of being a "Kassenpatient" I can only agree to you! I never get the feeling of being worse treated than private patients. Liebe Grüße!

Thanks so much for posting this. I’m hoping to live in Germany and your content is helpful. The health care system here in US leaves much to be desired.

Great weather today in Munich. Tomorrow is going to be fine too. If you don’t know it yet, make sure to visit the Eisbachwelle (Munichs most famous surfing spot) and take a stroll to „Fräulein Grüneis“ and or the „Bayerische Eismanufaktur“. Lots of trees - take your meds beforehand. Best regards from Munich

Like shows like this it breaks the preconceptions. And informs the world

Hey Trey, i am really happy that you and your family are well agan! 🙂

I used to live in Stuttgart. Now I’m in Wiesbaden. Glad you were able to find help via Stuttgart Friends.

I used to have allergies (comparatively mild symptoms, though: itchy eyes, sneezing, sore throat) when I was a kid and got tested in the same way you were. Roughly 30 drops of different liquids were put on my skin and then the skin was punctured (absolutely not painful) right where those droplets were. After twenty minutes or so you could see where the skin has reacted indicating an allergy and where there was no reaction at all. That was very interesting to witness - mind you, I was about 10 or 12 years old. And that's 35 years ago. Turned out, it was birches and weeds in my case. During the next few winters I got a so-called "active immunisation" shot every two weeks so my immune system could get used to the exposure and be ready for the next pollen-season. Didn't really make much of a difference, but later in life at about 25 or so, the hayfever (as we call it) became less and less bothersome until it eventually disappeared completely. But that's all beside the point: Happy you had a positive experience that gave you peace of mind and a medical team that went to the bottom of your symptoms. May you be as lucky as I was to one day not having to worry about allergies anymore. Cheers, Daniel

Welcome to Germany. Glad to see more ppl from VAI and ... "Wünsche dir gute Besserung".

Also a nice thing to know about pharamacies in Germany, if you take meds on a regular basis and get prescribed other meds because of an illness, you can ask at the pharmacie if your regular meds fit with the new ones or if this could leed to complications. I always ask them and if the meds don't fit, they will know an alternativ and give you that insted.

That's my second Video I'm watching on your channel. First I heard you live in Stuttgart and now Vaihingen? That's so cool. I grew up just around the corner (Leinfelden).

You get similar service in most of Europe. In Estonia for example, we also have a digital healthcare system interconnecting all the doctors, specialists and all pharmacies, so when you get something prescribed by your doctor or your GP, you can walk into any random pharmacy or one of your preference (for example if you have a customer loyalty account with one and discounts that come with it) and then you can just hand your ID to the pharmacist, and they will check the "digital health history" system from their end, and give you your exact prescription and whatever small charge you need to pay, no long lines, no waiting and zero paperwork. And also, if a specific name brand isn't in stock, they will always recommend an alternative with exactly the same effects, often cheaper as well.

The People at the front desk, are trained in medical staff. The Front desk is usually only a tiny part of their work. In more prominent Places, you may find a person only dedicated to the front desk that is only a typical office worker. But in general, all workers in a doctor's office are medical trained assistants.

Love your positive attitude and vibes. Nevertheless your experience with that great ENT (HNO in German) seems rather anecdotal to me. I suppose the staff helped you with the form because they realized you had language problems. I always have to do that myself. And getting an immediate appointment and only 2 minutes waiting is quite extraordinary. I think you have private insurance..that is why. Anyway, thanks for your positive outlook on this country. Good to hear.

The "V" in "Vaihingen" is pronounced like the "F" in "fighting". Actually, "Vaihingen" is pronounced like "fighting in" just without the "t".

Thank you for making this video. As a german I can tell you there are as much nice people working at a doctor's office as there are complete jerks. Guess you encountered a nice doctors office :-) In addition, private payers are sometimes treated more courteously than patients with public health insurance and sometimes appointments can be made faster for private payers....."sometimes ;-)". I hope you're having a wonderfull time in Germany :-)

The Ladys who are working with a Doctor, they have to go to a special school! This are not secretary's! Thez called " Arzthelferin".. It takes 3 years. They assist the Doctor. They are doing paperwork, but in the medical sector. We had 9 ladys, all of them just lovely!

The "ladies" are medizinische Fachangestellte not secretaries btw .-3 years vocational training!

Very happy to report that my GP gives the same care and treatment you got, and I'm from South Africa.

In Germany you only get a bill if you don't have an health care insurance which is compulsory in Germany. IF you have to pay something for your treatment then the doctor will talk about the whole payment BEFOREHAND. So, if you do have an insurance-card you won't get a bill at all! ;-))

I noticed the suspicous "why am I here so long, are they getting payed by the hour" reaction you had in the doctors office and in the pharmacy is quite a common among americans experiencing other health care systems. They feel like medicine is a business like any other, i.e. going to a lawyer or what. A german GP earns like 22€ for a short visit with a talk and a simple exam, other procedures and prescriptions add up, but still mostly in the single or double digits (general insurance). Thats reads not like doing it for the money~

One thing to note is that there are two different patient classes in Germany: public and private payer. You fall under the "private" category and will receive better care than someone who has public health insurance in Germany. Typically a publicly insured person will not get an appointment immediately (at a specialist), but might have to wait a few weeks. Also, the doctor might take a little less time explaining stuff because the rates they can charge a public insurance are much lower than what they charge private insurance. It's not a huge difference, but for any expats that are on German public health insurance (Krankenkasse), you may not have the same experience and might have to wait 2-3 weeks for a non-emergency appointment at a specialist. As far as I know, general practice physicians will always see you within the day, you may have to wait for hours, while a private patient can skip the line.

At pharmacy it is all about the Time you go. Never waited longer than 2 min. I always go about 1-2h before they close. In the Morning/Midday it mostly filled with older people that went to the doc in the morning.

Actually many european healthcare systems work like this or very similar. Take the nordic states for example, Spain, Austria...

Vielen Dank, dass du deine positive Geschichte erzählst. Viele andere erzählen lieber horrorstories, die sie sich vielleicht noch selbst ausgedacht haben. Bleib gesund.

The observation you have that the doctors in the US are rushing you through can also be seen in the policy of the EMT's. In Germany we have a stay and play policy so they first look after you and see if you are fit to be transported (exceptions are for life and death scenarios of course) and in the US the policy is to take the patient as fast as possible to the next hospital. The secretary at the doctor have a medical qualification and are also able to draw your blood if they are trained in that...

13:48 Not "some of the highest". THE highest healthcare cost per capita for healthcare that is subpar even when compared to many developing countries. 16:09 The reason for that is that in the US everyone can sell stuff at a pharmacy - in Germany pharmacists have to study at university and then receiver additional training. They're not just salespersons, they are highly trained professionals. One correction: We're the 4th largest economy behind the USA, China and Japan, not the 3rd. PS: The ladies (and in rare cases men as well) at the front desk are not just secretaries as they are in many US doctor's offices. They are medical specialists which is its own job which requires a 3-year education and training. This means that basically everyone you encounter in any doctor's office is trained medical staff. In extremely large doctor's offices they might have administrative staff at the front desk, but that is very rare.

Happy that you had such a good experience. Going to the doctors here is okish but it also can be a bit less friendly at times. If you are german they might not help you a lot with that paperwork, because they probably expect you can do it on your own, since you speak the language. If it's busy expect even less help. And waiting just 2 minutes? My experience specialy since covid, that waiting rooms are always full, reagrdless to which type of doctor you go and you wait at least 15 minutes, if not longer. And it's not certain that the doctor or anyone at the front desk speaks another language but german, regardless the fact that they had english in school.

To be fair, you can also meet a bad doctor in germany where you have the feeling you are a number. But if you look out for good ónes normaly you will find them. Greetings from beautiful munich ;)

Hi! I hope you get well soon :-) . Sounds like a great doctor! As a German.,I find your perspective very intersting. I can tell you, at first glance, some Germans have a tough exterior, but they are usually very willing to help. If you needed someone to translate, I'm sure any colleague, friend or neighbour (that knows english) of yours would help you gladly. I hope you don't mind if I add some information for other foreigners who might have some questions about doctors in Germany: Generally, the ratio of nice doctors is the same as with the rest of the population. But it's normal for them to take some time to get to know a new patient. Also, the staff and doctors are trained not only in medicine but also in at least one foreign language (mostly english) pertaining to their field. Usually their language competencies will be listed on their home page. The ladies at the front desk are either nurses doubling as receptionists or specially trained "doctors assistants", so they are used to performing this dual role in private practice. If you feel you were not treated correctly or you feel there where things lost in translation, you are always welcome to have another consultation with your doctor or seek a second opinion with another doctor. I would recommend this especially whith a larger procedure or elective surgery. That second opinion is also covered by basic German health insurance. Concerning the bill: If you are an employee, you should automatically have health insurance. It is payed by both your employer and yourself and your part gets taken out of your salary. If you have no German insurance, because you are currently self- or unemployeed it is really recommended to sign up for it. You can shop around or you can do what most Germans do: Get the basic package, which covers all the essentials, and if you feel you might want teeth implants in the future, get some private insurance that covers teeth. Take your time and have a read on what is covered with the basic package. The insurances and the health ministry all have multiple language choices on their homepages. I whish you all the best!

Very interesting video, thank you!! It is actually very rare that you have to wait in a line in a pharmacy in Germany. Many pharmacies also do COVID tests, issue vaccine certificates or even do vaccinations, which all takes time. That might have been the reason that you had to wait.

Much love, Aloha and Moin moin from a German (HH/KI) living in Hawaii, Kauai...

As a resident you usually won’t have to do paperworks for stuff like that you just give them your endurance card, everything for “usual” stuff is saved on it

I live in Germany since I'm born but was in US for a time - the Doctors in Germany are 100x nicer and better then US without a doubt 😅 your always treated good and that's mainly to the reason that the State is paying everything 'witch affects our health' you don't have to pay one cent

Great healthcare system in Germany. Is quite similar to the Netherlands where I live. You would have the allergy tests on your arm here too.

Sorry to hear you had COVID, but glad you are feeling better. One thing to know about doctors in pretty much any country, their "business language" is actually English. Most conferences are in English, even if they are in Italy or Spain. The stuff usually knows English as they are highly trained. So the front desk people or the pharmacy employee, they are not just there to get you data, they have Bachelors or Master degrees in the respective field and know everything about it. The "get your data job" is just a side task for them whereas in the US, you have extra people for every little task and they can pretty much only do that. You couldn't ask the front desk person something medical as that person has no idea other than add your data to the system. However, this keeps the cost down over the long run as you do not need as many employees but have a few but highly skilled employees. Here in the US, I am never sure if the people I talk to, even the doctors have any idea what is going on or what the solution is. Mostly they give you some strong pain killer, just helping for the short run but never give you something that helps and fixes for the long run. Glad you had a great experience.

I just found your channel, so I don't know if you intend to stay in Germany long, but yes, I agree with the others; you should defenitely get German health insurance if you intend to stay here. :) For my part, I only ever had great, and I mean really great experiences with my insurer (BARMER). We've had unfortunately a lot of bad accidents happen in my own family. My mother had a stroke when she was just 38, with no warning, and her left hand is still paralyzed today. My father fell down the stairs two years ago, is paralyzed almost enterely below the neck now, and I've just been diagnosed with cancer at age 32. Yes. Shitty all around. But my Krankenkasse was amazing. The people on the phone were amazing and really competent and always helpful. Furthermore: When you have to pay for medicine, medical procedures or hospital stays that combined exceed 2% (1% if you're disabled) of your wage per year, you can get a huge amount of that money back via a "co-payment exemption". Invaluable for chronical ill people like me and my parents. The thing is, you will never notice that money is missing, because you pay this percentage by law with your paycheck anyway. Even if every prescription in Germany tops at 10€, the costs, of course, can still add up if you have to swallow 17 pills a day, like me at the moment. So it's great. I even had the good fortune to have the right Krankenkasse that paid for my wig in full. So German heath care really IS great.

You seem to have found a VERY nice practice. Not all are as friendly, helpful and quickly available, even towards the locals ;) But here in NRW I've never been in a long line at a pharmacy, but I live in a small town. And we have apothecaries on every corner, but they tend to be small and not connected to a supermarket...

In the us you wait around 2 hours for your meds because they have to count the pills. In Germany it is ready and they will give it to you right away.

The Ladys at the counter are "Arzthelferinnen" (~doctors helpers) it is a job, they learned for three years, as a nurse had to do

thx for your nice story

Hi Trey, I know it's an old one, but I just wanted to state: when a pharmacist goes in-depth about side-effects, that's also a question of liability insurance.

What you called the "secretaries" are MTA* or MFA*. Those need to go through 3 years of medical training. They are doing all kinds of procedures, everyday stuff like taking blood, giving shots and such. They are like Nurses, they just do the secretarial stuff in addition to their medical duties. Only very big practises (usually with multiple practitioners) have a not-medically-trained secretary and even then usually only for answering the phone. *MTA - Medizinisch Technische/r Assistent/in - MFA - Medizinische/r FachAngestellste/r Meaning: assistant medical technician, they are roughly equal to a registered nurse in the american system

the costs just appear to be cheap because everyone is paying for everyone. so the bills get kinda shared. ofc, if u never get sick u are the one paying for nothing. but thats how insurance work in general. but behind the scene the doctor will charge the insurance company with a big amount like u would get in the us.

Doctors in germany are highly educated. It's common that they speak really good english. It could be a problem with older doctors (lets say 50+) but the younger generations are normally pretty good in english. I don't know how it is in other cities, but Stuttgart is a very international city with 2 universities, 2 US Barracks and 3 really big companies with Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Bosch. It's important to have english speaking staff in this city

The secretaries at the desk are Arzthelferinnen with 3 years of intense education. You learn all about anatomy, laboratory and a lot of other things.

Doctors here are pretty chill. I had to go to the doctor's and it was during Corona, so a rather stressful time. The doc really took his time to talk to me and everything, even though he could see all new incoming patients and their problems popping up on his computer. And even when I told him "There's so many patients outside", he was just like "mhm" and didn't change his attitude one bit, lol. They do their routine and that's that. This was in Austria though btw.

In America, they are friendly, (I am German) , but they do not resolved your health problems. They give you a test. if the test is negative. they do NOT ask you to come in again and to see what the problem is and finding the solution. You are in your own again. In Germany they ask you to come back and wanted to find the solution of your health issues. Not so here in America, at least that was my experience. I remember , when I asked at the desk for another appointment. After my visit, because I had to get a test, and I wanted to see the doctor again to find a treatment. The doctor here didn't seemed to like my action, because after the test results came in I was called from the office, and have been told, that the doctor will see me next at my yearly physical appointment. I was shocked and still had not gotten to my health issues resolved. And this is all those years the same way I am treated. And they praise the health care so much in these Advertisements on tv here. And you are correct, I was always helped in Germany; the educational system in Germany is totally different for those "Sprechstundenhilfe" then in the USA, they have also a medical education.

There may be some co pay invoved for meds, usually very little. If you stay longer you may want to look into insurance. If you have a work permit you can grab a job that pays over 450 € per month which gets you into the public health care system without delay.

I would be quite scared to have anything to do with the US Healthcare System. Let's hope I never get sick during one of my trips over the pond.

Usually in Germany you stick your insurance card into the card reader and walk straight into the waiting room. No forms or whatsoever. The front desk ladies are trained in doing certain medical procedures. Their profession is called "doctor's assistant" (Arzthelferin). Also pharmacists are highly trained for several years before they are allowed to sell drugs. They even are allowed to do some medical procedures like giving vaccination shots.

I’m so glad your appt. went very well. Hlthcare system in the US isn’t great, you are fortunate to even have hlth insurance in the US and if you do it’s almost always very expensive.

Nice vid :-)) The ladies at the front desk are'nt secretaries - they are very good and specific trained medical personnel. It's usually those ladies who perform treatments for the medical laboratory. They also give the injections and so on.

Your experience is more like a Canadian Doctor at an office or walk-in clinic or when using the emergency visit at a local hospital. More likely to engage with questions and answers and always willing to help. PLUS, there is NO BILLING, COST or forms for Insurance. Everyone gets the same treatment, services and Doctors without any reference to employment, wealth, or whom you are in CANADA.

Hi Tray, try the videos from "Simple Germany" too! They have a website too with all information!

Dear Trey, Im happy for you. Im German, please do not always expect that comfort, you had now 1 experience ( no 2, the pharmacy) . If you do not understand the doctor or entrance ladies, just insist…, that can help also… wishing you a good trip to Munich ! Wonder what the bill will be from the HNO doctor… take care 🙋🥰🦋

Hope everything goes okay to for you.

In the US you get smiles. In Germany you get information.

Always nice to see, that our health-system is percieved well by americans. If unsuprising tho. I think you would be surprised by most healthcare-systems around the world, since most do better than the US. But i take issue with the phrase "the Secretery double as nurses. I would rather say the Nurses double as a secretary. This Job has its own 3-year-apprenticeship in germany. Highly skilled workers.

14:00 why are you getting a bill? If you don't have health insurance yet, you need to get that asap because it is actually mandatory to have health insurance here in Germany. If you are employed at some company, you automatically get health insurance usually. If you are a freelancer or business owner on the other hand, you can get private health insurance.

Hope you habe a good time in beautiful Munich 🇩🇪✌️✌🏾

The doctors and the staff are nice, the patients sometimes not. Went to the doctor with my daughter. I saw an interaction with the staff and the mother of her sick child. She was half an hour late to her appointment and was arguing with the secretary. The secretary asked her to stay in a separate room because of Covid, I don't know what was going on but the mother didn't want to stay in the room. The secretary just said if you don't want to you are free to change doctors, she is not having an argument and she needs to stay in the room and wait. PS: the problem is we have a medical staff shortage, we need more nurses and doctors.

About the front desk ladies: I ‘m not sure how it is in Germany but here in the Netherlands we have a profession called ‘medical secretary’ and a profession called ‘doctors assistant’. Both professions require specialized training.