Statutory vs Private Insurance Appointments in Cologne: What Studies Show and How the KV Nordrhein Appointment Service Helps
Private patients are, on average, offered appointments earlier. A German field study (2019 calls to dermatology and neurology practices in large cities) found a median wait of 34 days for statutory patients against 19 for private patients, and in an AOK survey in the Rhineland area, a third of respondents felt that practices distinguished between the two. If you are statutorily insured in Cologne, the KV Nordrhein appointment service (tel. 116117, or 116117-termine.de) offers an appointment within a week and at most four weeks from your call. For a specialist you need a referral with an urgency code from your doctor, except for eye doctors and gynaecologists. For family doctors and paediatricians no referral is needed. Routine checks and minor complaints have no claim.
What the Evidence Says
Statutory-insured patients in Germany often wait longer for a specialist than privately insured patients. The numbers vary by study and city, and none of those we read covers Cologne alone. Two are worth knowing.
- A field experiment published as a working paper phoned dermatology and neurology practices in large German cities in 2019, twice per practice, once posing as a statutory patient and once as a private patient. Statutory patients had a median wait of 34 days, private patients 19 days, and 74 percent of private callers received an appointment, against 64 percent of statutory callers. The authors, who also surveyed practices (only 22 answered), link the gap to differences in pay.
- A survey by the AOK Rheinland/Hamburg of its insured members, published in the Deutsches Ärzteblatt in September 2025, found that 32.8 percent of respondents had the impression that practices distinguished between private and statutory patients when giving appointments. Waits of more than three weeks were most often reported for dermatology, cardiology and pulmonology.
For a general picture, the GKV-Spitzenverband’s 2025 survey of 3,520 statutory insured people found that one in two reached a specialist within 10 days and 25 percent waited more than 30 days. At family doctors, only 25 percent waited more than three days. These are statutory patients only, so they do not measure a gap to private patients.
| Source | Finding |
|---|---|
| Field experiment, dermatology and neurology, large German cities (calls 2019, published 2023) | Median wait 34 days (statutory) vs 19 days (private) |
| AOK Rheinland/Hamburg survey (2023 data, published 2025) | 32.8 percent perceived different treatment of private and statutory patients |
| GKV-Spitzenverband survey 2025, statutory only | Half reach a specialist within 10 days, 25 percent wait over 30 days |
| Same survey, family doctors | 25 percent wait more than 3 days |
None of this means a private plan is the better choice for you. Insurance type affects more than waiting, and our pages on choosing health insurance and on self-employed parents choosing between statutory and private cover cover the rest. This page is about what a statutory patient can do about the wait.
The Appointment Service of KV Nordrhein
Cologne belongs to the area of the KV Nordrhein. Its appointment service (Terminservicestelle) supports people with statutory insurance in finding a doctor or psychotherapist appointment, around the clock on the number 116117 without area code. The same service sits under the national 116117 patient service, which also offers online and app booking.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How fast? | An offer within one week of your contact. The maximum wait between contact and appointment is four weeks |
| If nothing is found? | The service arranges an outpatient appointment at a hospital |
| Specialist | Needs a referral with an urgency code. Not for eye doctors and gynaecologists |
| Family doctor, paediatrician | No referral, including child check-ups (U-Untersuchungen) |
| Psychotherapy | First consultation without referral. No therapy places arranged |
| Your wishes | No appointment with a specific doctor. Search follows a legal radius, so the journey may be longer |
| Not covered | Minor ailments and routine examinations |
A referral without an urgency code does not lead to arrangement within four weeks. The urgency code is issued by the doctor with the referral when an appointment is needed urgently, and it is what you give to the service.
The Family Doctor Route
The KV Nordrhein describes a second route in its explanation for practices. If your family doctor or paediatrician decides that a specialist appointment is urgent, the practice organises it itself by phone, email, fax or the e-appointment portal, and no urgency code is needed. This “Hausarztvermittlungsfall” does not work when the specialist practice is in the same medical centre or practice group, and it is excluded if you were already at the specialist practice in that quarter. For you, the practical message is simple: ask the family doctor, “can your practice book the specialist directly?”
For an acute problem, call 116117. After a standardised first assessment, the service can arrange an appointment within one calendar day, with no referral. It also steers people to the right place: an open practice, the doctor on call, the hospital emergency department or the emergency services on 112.
Booking Online
At 116117-termine.de or in the app, you confirm that you are statutorily insured, enter your postcode and the specialty, and optionally the twelve-digit code. Without a code, the tool shows only specialties that need none: family medicine, gynaecology, ophthalmology and paediatrics, plus a first psychotherapy consultation. You can widen the search radius, and you should check whether a slot is in person or a video appointment, as video needs a verified email address within 30 minutes.
Step by Step
- Ask the practice you want first. The service does not arrange appointments with a particular doctor, so try your preferred practice yourself before you call it.
- If the wait is too long, ask your doctor for a referral with an urgency code, or ask them to book the specialist directly.
- Call 116117 or book at 116117-termine.de, with the code and referral at hand.
- Accept a longer journey if the offer is further away, since the service searches within a legal radius.
- Cancel through the service if you cannot go, so the slot is not wasted.
- For children, use the family doctor and paediatrician route first. Our page on finding a paediatrician and the page on English-speaking specialists help with the search.
Compliance Note
This page summarises information from the KV Nordrhein, the national 116117 service and published studies as read in October 2026. Rules for the appointment service and waiting times change, and the studies do not describe Cologne alone. It is not medical or legal advice. In an emergency call 112.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Do private patients really get appointments faster in Cologne?
The studies point that way on average, but none we read is specific to Cologne. A field experiment published as a working paper, in which callers phoned dermatology and neurology practices in large German cities in 2019 once as statutory and once as private patients, found a median wait of 34 days for statutory patients against 19 days for private patients, with 74 percent of private callers getting an appointment against 64 percent of statutory callers. An AOK Rheinland/Hamburg survey published in the Deutsches Ärzteblatt found that 32.8 percent of respondents had the impression that practices distinguished between private and statutory patients. The rest is a matter of specialty and practice.
How long do statutory patients usually wait?
The GKV-Spitzenverband survey of 3,520 statutory insured people in 2025 found that one in two reached a specialist within 10 days, while 25 percent waited more than 30 days. At family doctors, 25 percent waited more than 3 days. Thirty percent found it difficult or very difficult to get a specialist appointment, 35 percent of those who rated their health as poor. The survey covers statutory patients only, so it says nothing about the difference to private patients.
What does the KV Nordrhein appointment service do?
It helps people with statutory insurance to get a doctor or psychotherapist appointment, around the clock on 116117 without area code. After you contact it, it offers you an appointment within a week, and the maximum wait between contact and appointment is four weeks. If it cannot find one, it arranges an outpatient hospital appointment. It does not arrange appointments with a specific doctor, and it searches by a legal radius, which may mean a longer journey.
Do I need a referral?
For a specialist within four weeks, yes: your doctor must issue a referral with an urgency code. Eye doctors and gynaecologists are exempt. For a family doctor or paediatrician, no referral is needed, and the service also arranges the child check-ups (U-Untersuchungen) or helps you find a permanent family doctor. A first psychotherapy consultation also needs no referral. A referral without a code gets no arrangement within four weeks.
Is there a way without the appointment service?
Yes. If your family doctor or paediatrician decides a specialist appointment is urgent, the practice itself organises it by phone, email, fax or the e-appointment portal, and KV Nordrhein says an urgency code is not needed for this 'Hausarztvermittlungsfall'. The specialist practice must not be in the same medical centre or practice group, and the case is excluded if you already visited that practice in the quarter. Ask your family doctor whether they will do it.
Can I book online?
Yes, at 116117-termine.de or in the 116117 app. You confirm that you are statutorily insured, enter your postcode and a specialty, and optionally the twelve-digit code from your referral. Without a code only the specialties that need none are shown: family medicine, gynaecology, ophthalmology and paediatrics, plus a psychotherapy first interview. You can widen the search radius, and you should note whether the slot is in person or a video consultation.
What if the problem is acute?
Call 116117. KV Nordrhein says that after a medical first assessment, an appointment within one calendar day can be arranged, and no referral is needed. The service also routes people to the right level of care: an open practice, the doctor on call, the hospital emergency department or the emergency services on 112. For children outside practice hours, see our page on the children's emergency doctor.
Are there things the service does not do?
The KV Nordrhein says it offers no appointments for a wish doctor, no therapy places (only first consultations and related appointments), and no claim for minor ailments or routine check-ups. Its page does not mention dentists, so call your dentist directly. Cancel an appointment you cannot keep by calling the service, so that the slot goes back to others.