My Visit To A German Hospital Emergency Room While Traveling

Health concerns can come up while traveling, and our worst fears can take over. My experience in a German hospital was eye-opening. 

Getting Really, Really Sick While Traveling

We set out on a business trip with supplier meetings that spanned London, Istanbul, Athens, and Munich. It seems like a lot, but as a travel agency owner, this is not atypical for our business. Somewhere along the way, I contracted a food borne illness and was really, really sick for more than a week. Without getting into the graphic details, it was the most significant gastrointestinal distress I have ever experienced and lasted far longer than the normal 24-72 hours food poisoning typically lasts. Combined with this was dehydration that caused further complications, stress, and inhibited my ability to recuperate.

In Athens, we sought medical attention immediately upon arriving at the hotel. For those curious, Greek doctors will happily make house calls to your hotel if you’re feeling unwell (mine cost €120) and mobile IV services are also available for about the same cost to rehydrate. We requested the doctor bring an IV but this was lost in translation. He provided some prescriptions to treat the symptoms and make me more comfortable but advised I should follow up with my primary care physician upon my return.

After a tough couple of days in an Athens hotel, we left for Munich, our final stop. We had shopped for flights home from Athens either just for myself or with my family but there were virtually no reasonable route options with availability in the height of the summer travel season. After this much time (now nine days) certainly I would have to be at the end of this dilemma.

It was a tough day to fly, I was never very comfortable, was generally fairly week and in essence hadn’t retained any material food for more than a week. The landing into Munich was moderately turbulent, and it did not go well for me. Exiting the airport in Munich, I could hardly stand for any substantial duration.

Regular readers of this blog will note that while I am rarely ill, this summer has resulted in several frustrating health events almost exclusively while traveling.

Seeking Care

Shortly after checking into our Munich hotel (stunning, review to follow in the coming weeks), my wife located a hospital about a ten minute walk though we took a taxi. We walked through what seemed to be an elaborate maze of hallways in what felt like a 1930s era university conversion to find a preliminary exam room.

We don’t speak German, but almost everywhere we went someone spoke English, a skill for which I am incredibly grateful so many Germans possess. Our first encounter at an admin’s desk, however, was met with annoyance that we do not speak German by someone who did not speak English. While we struggled using translator apps on our phone, the receptionist seemingly intentionally would not wait for the translation to begin speaking leaving us without the ability to communicate. The Doctor happened by, witnessed what was happening, spoke with the receptionist and gave us a sheet with directions on what to fill out.

My blood was sampled and analyzed on the spot with a read out in English. Immediately upon examining the read out, the doctor was concerned by a key marker and indicated that we needed to move to another area of the hospital for specific examination. The results were consistent with a bacterial infection that began with a specific type of food borne illness and my dehydration compounded the problem.

We found ourselves in the emergency room, once we had paid €70 in cash (no cards accepted.) We were grateful to pay it and have some sort of an answer as to what was going on.

The Most Amazing Doctor

At the emergency room reception, we struggled to explain that we were happy to pay cash when a doctor was called in. She apologized for her English – which was utterly flawless – and explained that while I could be examined there, based on the blood test results I couldn’t be treated at that hospital and would have to pay for both my exam there plus the secondary hospital.

“If you need to stay overnight it will cost €5,000 for the one night stay not including the surgery.” Wait, surgery? That was new information and didn’t make sense to me. The doctor then incredulously confirmed the amount with the reception and expressed she thought it was absurd. She then, asks about whether we have insurance, we say yes, but in America. She communicates this back on our behalf, there’s lots of back and forth, more frustration by the doctor and then she states, “I’m just going to see you here and now, no insurance.”

She took me back to an exam theater and began an ultra sound. The excessive use of gel appears to be a universal challenge to the procedure. She identified a further concern and then comes up with a plan. She was comforting, thorough, communicated what was happening to my wife who was waiting outside, administered the IV I needed days ago, and sent me away with a prescription after a couple of hours.

When I say that she was the angel I needed, I mean that as literally as possible.

Costs And Travel Insurance

I have mentioned some of the costs along the way, all of which we were happy to pay. When the emergency room receptionist and doctor were discussing a potential surgery and costly overnight stay at a hospital, my wife added some emergency travel insurance which we found incredibly reasonably priced. We were able to add it for the just the days of our stay in Germany including repatriation flights and any costs incurred before returning home at a cost of about $200. That was the easiest decision I have ever made. In the words of Ryan Gosling in the Big Short,

“I’m standing in front of a burning house, and I’m offering you fire insurance on it!”

The running total was:

• €120 – Athens Doctor
• €20 – Athens prescriptions and over the counter medicines (4)
• €70 – Primary evaluation at Munich hospital
• €200 – Emergency room treatment at Munich hospital
• €170 – Travel Insurance
• €580 – TOTAL

For the care I was given, the relief, the diagnosis – it seemed like the best bargain of my life.

Conclusion

I was impressed by the care I received and quick attention offered by the Munich hospital I visited. The doctor that cared for me was an absolute class act taking me on without hesitation at the end of her shift and extending her already worked 12-hour day by another 90 minutes when I’m sure she just wanted to go home. While the facilities in the US may be more modern, the costs would have been exorbitant even with insurance in-network at home. Being sick anywhere is tough, but to the extent of my illness and being that I was abroad at the time was an incredibly trying and scary situation. I couldn’t be more grateful for the service and expertise of my German hospital visit, though I hope to never repeat it.