Healthcare Differences

In Germany, the healthcare differs a lot from that of the United States. The doctors office, the pharmacy, medications, and more. I have bbeen pretty sick and had to go to the doctor today due to an infection. Some things I was just taken aback by.

First of all, going to the doctor is totally different. In Germany, you have almost a conference with your doctor, rather than them examining you along with it. With your symptoms, they then decide what to do. This can be challenging as an exchange student as you may end up explaining it in German. Mine ended up being bloodwork as it seemed like I had an infection. I was shocked that I had been prescribed antibiotics without getting some sort of test result back, as I feel like I have always had to in the United States. 

After getting my prescription and leaving, I went to the pharmacy (called an Apotheke) to get it filled. I was told to come back a few hours later and it would be ready, which is exactly what I did. When you pay for medication on program, you need to pay for it out of pocket and get a blue reciept in order to send to the insurance. After I went back and went to take my first pill of the antibiotic, I realized that it was very large. I had also noticed this in vitamins and ibeprofin here, allowing me to come to the conclusion that most pills here are larger.

The pharmacy is also used to get nearly any medication, almost like over-the-counter medication in the United States. A lot more medications can be bought this way. The pharmacist is also there to listen to what you may. have, sore throat, a cough, etc and reccomend medications for you to buy. This is more of like going to the doctor for a cold or some other small sickness and then being able to have someone reccomend what you may need.