Arabs Seek Medical Expertise in Germany

Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, clinics in Germany have been experiencing an increase in patients from the Arab world. Already, there is talk of a boom in "medical tourism"

Over the last two years, German hospitals have been reporting huge increases in the number of visiting Arab patients they are treating. Wealthy Arabs, who ordinarily sought medical treatment at American hospitals, are now turning to Germany because they are fed up with the hassles involved in traveling to the United States. They deplore the invasive interviews and degrading background checks needed to obtain U.S. visas and pass through security controls at the airports, measures that were introduced in the wake of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.

German medical expertise in high demand

Despite the current debate on the future state of Germany’s medical system, the country’s hospitals and clinics enjoy an excellent reputation abroad. German medical facilities also have sufficient spare resources to cater for patients from abroad. The country boasts a relatively large number of university clinics and some of its hospitals are quite comprehensive.

Axel Hollander, director of the Cologne-based agency GerMedic, which specializes in arranging care and treatment for visiting patients, sees no shortage of reasons why Germany is an attractive proposition for foreigners seeking medical treatment. "Because we have so many doctors in Germany," he says, "we also have some of the world's best specialists in almost all branches of medicine. These are specialists who are certainly on a par with their counterparts working in U.S. hospitals."

GerMedic is not involved with actual treatment, but rather offers services essential for patients traveling to Germany for treatment from abroad. These include looking for the right specialist, helping out with visa problems, on-the-spot supervision and making sure a translator is available to help explain complex medical subjects.

According to Hollander, turnover at GerMedic has increased by up to 150 percent in the past 18 months, largely due to the influx of Arab patients coming to Germany.

Fewer foreign patients in America good for Germany

Although there are no statistics firmly indicating exactly how many Arabs travel to Germany every year specifically for medical treatment, the Committee for the Promotion of German Medicine Abroad is pretty much convinced patients who normally would have traveled to the United States for treatment are coming to Germany since September 11, 2001.

Kirsten Adamek, spokeswoman for the committee, estimates that turnover in American health care has dropped by about fifty percent from a previous $1.4 billion. "In other words," she says, "treatment and operations worth between 500 and 7 million dollars are either not being carried out or are being done outside the U.S." She adds, "Some of this money is certainly ending up in Germany." According to Adamek, the Committee for the Promotion of German Medicine Abroad has in the past two years been working to increase awareness in the Arab world of medical services in Germany.

Medical tourism on the rise

Already, there is talk of an increase in "medical tourism" in Germany. Axel Hollander, however, is not happy with the term which has repeatedly turned up as the number of foreigners coming to Germany for hospital treatment increases.

"'Medical tourism" is an inappropriate term in the sense that the majority of patients who come to German clinics from other countries really need medical help," he says. "It is not as if they come here for a holiday. Instead we very often have seriously ill people here, who can't get adequate treatment in their home countries."

For the German health system the increase in foreign patients brings an obvious economic benefit. The cost for medical care for an extensive operation or cancer treatment, for example, quickly runs into tens of thousands of euros. And because the foreign patients are not on the German state health insurance plan, they have to pay the entire bill themselves, thus bringing in much needed cash to what at least in Germans’ eyes is a infirm health system.

Deutsche Welle staff