Dr's appointment wait time with public insurance

[ct350]

Hello,

I've been having trouble with depression and got a referral/transfer paper from my hausarzt/GP to see a psychiatrist, however the soonest appointment I could get with one of the three doctors he suggested was at least two months away. I was able to find an appointment with another doctor in a town 45 minutes from where I live a month from now.

I had the same issue with trying to see a dermatologist last December and the receptionist indicated that it's harder for people with public insurance to get appointments.

Is this normal? My depression isn't necessarily an emergency, but it certainly is affecting my daily life and I'm rather upset that I can't even start to get help until a month from now. Can I research treatments and ask my hausarzt to prescribe something? I know this sounds stupid, diagnosing yourself by internet, but I'm at a bit of a loss.

If this is normal, is there some way around this issue that I don't know about?

Thanks!

[JennySch]

Originally Posted by ct350

Is this normal?

It is quite normal.
In my experience, many physicians in Germany are nowadays businessmen first and physicians second. On the other hand, I hear it often from my friends with expensive private health insurance, that they get appointments instantly, event for the same day. But the downside of this advantage is that they have almost always another problem with unnecessary examinations being performed. Apparently, the physicians love questionable diagnoses that frequently lead to additional tests, which only generate more revenue for them.
Good luck!
J.

[vronchen]

there are not enough specialists in Germany hence the wait. I never had a problem since my go is awesome and she usually called the doctor I needed to go to and suddenly it was not a problem to get an appointment within a couple of days.