Neurologist, cardiologist, rheumatologist: if you are in the statutory health system, the practice often says nothing is free for now. The national association of statutory-insurance doctors (KBV) expects 2027 to be harder. Its chairman Andreas Gassen told “Bild” that the shortage of appointments will “get worse”. There is a tool that is used less than it should be, though: the appointment service on 116117, which is free.
These services have existed since a 2019 law. They step in when your own search fails. The KBV objects to a change in the emergency care reform recently passed by the Bundestag: practices now decide how many free slots they report, but fixed quotas are coming. Doctors say that would remove slots they would otherwise keep for their own patients. The size of the quotas is still to be set by the physicians’ associations together with the health insurers. We covered the warning separately.
What you need before calling
First, check you qualify. The service is only for people with statutory insurance, for example an AOK, TK or Barmer card. Dentists and orthodontists are excluded, as are acute problems and minor complaints. In an emergency call 112; outside surgery hours the on-call doctor answers on the same 116117 number.
GPs, paediatricians and youth doctors need no referral, and children’s check-ups (U-Untersuchungen) are arranged too. Specialists usually require one, except eye doctors and gynaecologists. Crucially, the referral should carry a code your GP issues when treatment is needed within four weeks. Bavaria’s KVB calls it a “Vermittlungscode”; consumer advice centres say “Dringlichkeitscode”. Without it you have no claim to an appointment in that window. A psychotherapy consultation needs no referral, but for acute treatment or trial sessions the therapist must certify the need at the first meeting (form PTV11).
Call 116117, which is free and, according to the KVB, answers around the clock. You can also use eterminservice.de or the 116117 app.
How fast, how far, how flexible?
The sources differ here. The KVB says the service arranges a slot within a week and the wait from your first call is at most five weeks. Baden-Württemberg’s doctors’ association and the Hamburg consumer centre speak of four weeks, or 35 days. Plan for a month to five weeks, not tomorrow.
You cannot pick your doctor. Appointments are offered within a “reasonable distance”: for GPs and general specialists up to 30 minutes or 30 km beyond the route to the nearest doctor of that group, for specialists up to 60. You get two offers at most. If you cannot attend, tell both the practice and the service, ideally the same day; only then is a second offer assured.
If nothing is found, the service is meant to arrange outpatient treatment at a hospital, according to the consumer centre.
Our assessment: the service remains a safety net, not a fast lane. With fixed quotas it is unlikely to get quicker in 2027, with moderate confidence while details are missing. So once you hold a referral, call straight away rather than waiting weeks.
Sources: KVB Bayern, KV Baden-Württemberg, Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg, Bundesgesundheitsministerium, Spiegel
