Well informed

Please bring all current records with you to your first appointment – reports, X-rays, surgical records and MRI scans.

At the first consultation we agree on the course of treatment, whether non-surgical or surgical. If an operation is needed, a date can be arranged during that first appointment. Your surgeon will explain how the operation will proceed, and our anaesthetist will talk you through the anaesthesia. Patients who have a long journey to us, and patients from abroad, are also welcome to speak to the surgeon by telephone.

Most joint procedures require follow-up physiotherapy. Our inpatients are cared for by our own physiotherapy department, and outpatients can arrange appointments there as well. For major joint procedures such as realignment surgery or joint replacement, we recommend two to three weeks of inpatient rehabilitation, which we are happy to arrange for you.

For patients with statutory health insurance, the cost of treatment is covered by their health insurance fund. Inpatient treatment at our private clinic is accepted by the statutory funds provided we have a contract with the fund in question. At present this applies to the IKK and to most BKK funds (both are German statutory health insurance funds).

For private patients, the examination, the non-surgical or surgical treatment and the anaesthesia are billed privately. The doctor’s invoice follows the Gebührenordnung für Ärzte (GOÄ), the German statutory scale of medical fees. Inpatient treatment is billed as case-based flat rates, based on DRGs. Private health insurers usually reimburse the cost of treatment at the clinic. For particularly complex operations we agree individual fee arrangements in some cases, which we justify to your insurer accordingly.

We are of course happy to treat patients from other countries. In most cases we can suggest a course of treatment on the basis of your records and a telephone consultation. If an operation at Sportklinik Freiburg is planned, the pre-operative tests (blood work, X-rays and so on) can be carried out at our clinic on the day before surgery. If you wish, we can help with your travel arrangements, such as booking flights and a hotel. As a general rule we advise waiting a few days after the operation before travelling home.

Billing is normally by case-based flat rate (DRG). This single rate covers all costs: the fees for the surgeon and the anaesthetist, materials, the inpatient stay, physiotherapy, orthoses, walking aids and so on. On request, the cost of an additional stay of several weeks at a rehabilitation clinic can also be included in the rate.