At an early stage, the Berlin Senate made the decision to develop Berlin to become one of the leading regions in the health sector of Germany and Europe. To this end, the Federal Capital of Berlin, which at the same time is one of the German Lands, cooperates with the surrounding Land Brandenburg.
The intensive and fruitful cooperation between both Lands with their ideally complementing health services is materialized, among other things, by the joint “Berlin-Brandenburg Health Region” master plan and the “HealthCapital Berlin-Brandenburg” network.
While Berlin’s strong points are the high-end medicine and the extreme density of the research sector, Brandenburg is renowned for its rehabilitation medicine and the wellness and medical tourism in a nature-friendly environment in addition to serving as a central meeting point of the relevant public health actors.
Berlin has an extremely capable network of curative health care in which the performance of the participating hospitals takes a leading position in Germany, throughout Europe and even worldwide. This ensures that medical and technical innovations reach the patients directly and without much delay. Furthermore, Berlin and its 12 districts are members in the “Healthy City Network” of the WHO.
The export of healthcare services and medical tourism are central fields of action in the aforementioned master plan. In this respect, Berlin can benefit from the excellent reputation of its health services abroad. Moreover, Berlin as an outward-looking metropolis with its charming surrounding landscapes is, from the viewpoint of tourism, very attractive for the patients’ companions and the patients themselves before and after their medical treatment.
Since the breakdown of the Berlin Wall, Berlin has been hosting an ever rising number of tourists from abroad who enjoy the many historic sights, the ample cultural life or the unique shopping opportunities. For a rapidly growing number of patients from abroad, the convenient location of international embassies is an essential reason to get medical treatment in Germany’s capital.
Below are three examples of international activities involving Berlin hospitals, making them even more attractive for patients and their families.
Network for Better Medical Care Berlin (NBMC)
Under the patronage and with the support of the Berlin Senate, a number of renowned Berlin hospitals formed a network in 2005. The NBMC members offer patients from abroad forms of medical treatment, care and accommodation according to their individual needs.
NBMC looks at itself mainly as a high-quality community which develops, implements and supervises uniform quality standards with respect to dealing with the language, cultural, religious, and organization-related needs of their foreign patients. In addition, NBMC is also active in fields such as training and follow-up training of foreign physicians, visiting doctors, or inter-Land telemedically activities.
Vivantes ~ Netzwerk für Gesundheit GmbH (Vivantes – Health Network Ltd.):
Vivantes GmbH, Germany’s largest communal hospital organization and, with its approx. 5,000 beds, market leader in Berlin, comprises 9 high-performance hospitals covering nearly all medical indications. Vivantes is able to provide care for its clients, particularly those from Arab countries and Russia, in their native languages.
The Patient Therapy Program ensures individual medical treatment and care for foreign patients and their companions. They offer the Visiting Program for medical jobs abroad, the Education Program for foreign physicians in Germany, and the Consulting Program for clients from abroad as well.
The cooperation and contract partners comprise important institutions such as embassies or ministries of several countries. Vivantes provides for strategic, long-term and complete supervision of hospital projects abroad – from the idea to the training of doctors or local management. A number of possibilities in this field are presented on the new website.
Charité ~ Hochschulmedizin Berlin (Charité ~ Berlin University Medicine):
At the internationally renowned Charité, doctors and scientists are engaged in research, healing and teaching activities on an international top level. Next year, the Charité will look back to its 300-year history. The Charité has four campuses comprising more than 100 medical departments and institutes organized in 17 Charité Centers. The Charité, too, performs international activities on a broad scale.
The International Department supports foreign patients in organizing and preparing their inpatient treatment. The Charité International Cooperation (ChiC) Department coordinates and organizes the international activities of the Medical Faculty and the exchange programs for students of medicine (ERASMUS and bilateral cooperation projects). Finally, the International Welcome Center is responsible for looking after international visiting scientists and academics during their stay at the Charité.
These three examples are just the beginning of how Berlin is dedicated to making its Health Capital more and more attractive to international patients in Europe and worldwide.
Christian Grunewald represents the Senate Department for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection. For more information, please go to www.nbmc-berlin.de / www.vivantes-international.com / www.charite.de / www.healthcapital.de