Situation · International patients · Berlin
International patient in Berlin
International patient in Berlin is an occasion for a private medical home visit, for which RAB Arztbesuche dispatches a licensed physician to your home, office or hotel in Berlin daily from 6 am to midnight.
Berlin is an international city — embassies, multinational employers, university hospitals with global visiting doctors, thousands of diplomats, international families in Mitte and Charlottenburg. If you are in Berlin from abroad and fall ill, you do not need German bureaucracy — you need a doctor who comes to you, examines in your language and issues an invoice that your insurer reimburses.
Medically reviewed by Susanne Reiche · Last reviewed
International patient in Berlin — what is different
Berlin hosts hundreds of thousands of international residents: diplomats from more than 160 embassies, international corporate staff (Tesla, Zalando, Delivery Hero, SAP, many others), foreign correspondents of major newspapers and broadcasters, international postdocs at Charité, MDC, MPI, FU, HU and TU, and countless international families. Falling ill in this population creates a specific set of requirements: medical care in a language the patient understands; an invoice that the home country or international insurer will reimburse; medical vocabulary the home-country GP can follow.
Our team is multilingual. German and English are standard. Further languages are available within the team — we coordinate internally to assign a physician with matching language skills where possible. Medical documentation (physician's letter, findings report) is produced in English on request, with international ICD-10 coding and standard pharmacological names so that the home-country GP can follow every detail. GOÄ invoices are widely accepted internationally — we know the reimbursement practice of major travel and international health insurers.
Typical international acute situations
Respiratory infections and streptococcal angina (most common in diplomatic families with kindergarten children), gastrointestinal infections (often norovirus, sometimes travellers' diarrhoea), urinary infections (especially in travelling women with limited fluid intake), migraine after long-haul flights, lumbago after long sitting, acute otitis in expat children, hypertensive crises in pre-existing business travellers, syncope after time-zone changes. We treat the full spectrum — and issue multilingual certificates.
Insurance billing — what international insurers accept
International travel insurers (Allianz Travel, AXA Assistance, Cigna Global, Aetna International, Bupa Global, AIG, GeoBlue, Europ Assistance) usually reimburse GOÄ invoices in full — we know their practice, itemise the invoice by GOÄ code and provide an English translation of the diagnosis and key items on request. For assistance providers wanting to bill us directly (Guarantee-of-Payment model) we clarify coverage by phone before the visit. Self-paying patients receive the invoice in German with an additional English receipt for insurer submission on request.
How an international house call works
You call. We record symptoms, address (hotel, apartment, embassy residence), language, insurer and assistance provider. With prior assistance-provider clearance we usually organise that in parallel — so coverage is confirmed by the time of the visit. The physician calls before arrival.
On site: history in the patient's language, thorough examination, targeted diagnostics, treatment. You receive prescription (to an English-friendly Berlin pharmacy on request), certificates in the required language, physician's letter in English or German, and the GOÄ invoice. If follow-up care is needed, we coordinate with an international Berlin specialist.
GOÄ and international insurance
All services are billed under the GOÄ via our Privatärztliche Verrechnungsstelle. Typical cost EUR 240 to 400 on weekdays, EUR 280 to 460 on weekends and holidays. Travel and international health insurers usually reimburse fully. For direct assistance-provider billing we clarify coverage in advance.
Itemised invoice by GOÄ code, English translation on request, separate English diagnosis sheet when the home GP needs it. For life-threatening emergencies: 112. For low-threshold advice outside our hours: 116117 (German- and English-speaking).
Emergency? Dial the emergency number
If unconscious, with severe chest pain, breathlessness or heavy bleeding, dial 112 immediately. Our service complements the emergency services — it does not replace them.
Case profiles
Typical scenarios
French family in a Mitte apartment
Family from Paris, father apathetic and febrile, children well. History in French via a French-speaking colleague, clinically viral infection with fever, symptomatic therapy, clear instructions in French and English, certificate for Allianz Travel with English diagnosis.
US postdoc at MDC with streptococcal angina
29-year-old postdoc from Boston, three months in Berlin, streptococcal angina since the night. English examination, rapid test positive, penicillin V, AU-equivalent letter in English for the US supervisor, certificate for the MDC's Aetna insurance.
Diplomat from Tel Aviv with hyperemesis in pregnancy
32-year-old embassy staff member, week 11, vomiting for days. History in English and Hebrew via a multilingual colleague, infusion, antiemetic with informed consent, recommendation for obstetric review at a Berlin maternity hospital with an English-speaking team, bilingual physician's letter.
Japanese tourists at a Brandenburger Tor hotel
Couple in their 70s, the husband with a hypertensive crisis. History supported by hotel reception and translation app, ECG, first-line antihypertensive, stabilisation. English physician's letter for the Japanese GP, English certificate for JTB travel insurance.
Frequently asked questions
In which language is the examination?
German and English are standard. Further languages are available in the team — we try to assign a physician with your language. If not possible we work with translation apps and/or a companion.
Will my international insurer reimburse you?
Most international travel and health insurers reimburse GOÄ invoices in full. We know the major providers and can speak with your assistance provider directly on request.
Do you write physician's letters in English?
Yes. Fully English or bilingual on request — with ICD-10 codes and standard pharmacological names so your home GP understands the document immediately.
How do embassies and corporates book for their staff?
Embassy medical desks and HR departments of major international employers use our service regularly. We can invoice the staff member directly or, with a contract, the employer.
Book now or call
Get in touch — we will arrange a doctor for International patient in Berlin.