Persian-speaking Ophthalmologists

Persian-speaking ophthalmologists across Germany. Eye care in this country is split across three separate counters, and most of the wasted journeys newcomers make start right there. An eye examination is also more of a conversation than it looks: you have to say what you see, what has changed, and decide in about a second whether this lens was better than that one.

In an emergency, or if there is a risk to life, call 112. Outside practice hours the medical on-call service answers on 116 117 and can also help you find an appointment. For an urgent eye problem that same number will say which ophthalmologist is on call, and eye hospitals in the larger cities run an emergency clinic. This page is only a directory and is not an emergency service.

What the Verified badge does and does not say

Verified says one thing only: a real person stands behind this profile and manages it themselves. YabInfy does not check anyone's certificates, licences, experience or competence, and the badge is not for sale. The specialist title in ophthalmology (Facharzt für Augenheilkunde) is recognised by the state medical chamber (Landesärztekammer), and that chamber is the body to ask.

Three counters: eye doctor, optician, optometrist

The ophthalmologist is a doctor: a medical degree followed by specialist training in the eye. They diagnose eye disease, prescribe medication, operate, and write the prescription that an insurer will act on.

The optician (Augenoptiker) is a skilled trade with a formal apprenticeship behind it. They measure for glasses and make and fit the lenses and frames, but they do not diagnose or treat disease of the eye.

The optometrist is not a doctor, and in Germany that title is not legally protected. Usually the person came up through optics, qualified as a master craftsman, and then specialised further. Because the title is open, ask what training the person actually has and what they will and will not do.

The eyesight test for a car licence is done at either counter, because it only has to be somewhere officially recognised for it. The certificate is valid for two years, the price is unregulated, and some opticians do it for nothing. For lorries, buses and passenger transport a full ophthalmological examination is required instead, and the final word on what you need belongs to your driving school and the licensing office.

Glasses and lenses: a prescription is one thing, a measurement is another

The prescription an eye doctor writes is a medical document. The measurement taken in an optician's shop is part of a purchase. Both may arrive at the same numbers, but the one an insurer opens a file on is the prescription.

For an adult with statutory insurance the broad rule is this: the insurer does not pay for spectacle lenses except in defined cases, such as a very high correction (in the region of more than 6 dioptres of short or long sight, or more than 4 dioptres of astigmatism) or severe impairment that remains even with the best correction. The frame is your own money in every case. Your own insurer sets the thresholds and the amounts, so ask which rule applies to you before you buy anything. Under-eighteens are counted differently and lenses are usually covered. Contact lenses are stricter still, and statutory insurance accepts them only on defined medical grounds; lenses for comfort or appearance are yours to pay for. Ask for a written cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag) before you order, and let the insurer decide in writing.

Children's eyes

A squint or a lazy eye responds better the earlier it is found, and the route is already built here. The scheduled childhood check-ups at the paediatrician, the ones recorded in the booklet with a U and a number, include vision from toddler age onward, and the child is referred to an eye doctor when needed. Many eye practices run a unit called a Sehschule, where an orthoptist works alongside the doctor and turns the examination into something closer to a game. Not every practice has one, so say when you book that the appointment is for a child and ask. Children's cover is not the same as an adult's either, so do not assume that something not paid for you is unpaid for your child. Pediatricians are the start of that route.

Which examinations the insurer pays for, and which you do

Some eye conditions make no noise until late, which is what makes a periodic examination worth having. But part of what you will be offered is presented as a self-pay service rather than an insured one. It is called an Individuelle Gesundheitsleistung and everyone calls it IGeL. Measuring eye pressure as a precaution, and layered imaging of the retina, are among the most common. That is not wrong in itself, but there are rules, and they work in your favour:

• Ask whether this examination is an insured service or self-pay, and if self-pay, why. If the doctor considers it necessary for a specific reason rather than as general screening, the arithmetic can be different.
• Before anything is done, the cost must be given to you in writing and you must sign a written agreement. Do not say yes until you have seen that paper. Saying no is also your right, and you sign nothing to refuse.
• An independent assessment of these services is published by the statutory insurers' medical service (Medizinischer Dienst) on the public IGeL-Monitor site.

One important exception: if you have diabetes, a periodic examination of the back of the eye is part of managing the diabetes rather than an extra. It runs on a referral, the chronic disease management programmes schedule it at defined intervals, and your doctor sets the interval. Make sure the diabetes is written on the referral, because that is what keeps the examination inside the insured basket. General practitioners write that referral.

Two things to get a number and a plan for before you start

Cataract surgery is one of the routine operations in Germany, mostly done as a day case, and statutory insurance covers the operation itself, a standard lens, and the care before and after. Where cost enters is the lens: premium lenses sit outside the insured basket and the difference is billed to you privately. So ask in writing what is inside the basket, what is not, and what your own share comes to in euros. The practice is obliged to tell you about the option the insurer covers, and a private service is never a condition of having the operation. Which lens suits your eye is a decision for you and your doctor; the only thing this page says is that you should see the figure before you sign.

Injections into the eye, given for some retinal conditions, are almost never a single appointment. They start as a run of injections a few weeks apart, then come the review and imaging appointments, and the plan continues from there. That means months of visits. Before starting, ask how many appointments the first course is and at what spacing, whether the injection happens in that practice or somewhere else, and which appointments are examinations and which are injections.

What to bring, and how you get home

The glasses you wear now and your previous pair, the most recent prescription or optician's measurement slip even if it is from another country, earlier eye reports, and the box your contact lenses came in, because nobody recalls lens specifications from memory. And one thing that catches people out: many examinations involve drops that widen the pupil, after which near vision is blurred and the eyes are sensitive to light for several hours. Ask when you book whether those drops are on the plan for that day, and if they are, arrange in advance to get home without driving.

What to ask when you call

• Which part of the work the practice does itself: examining the back of the eye, imaging, injections, surgery, or diagnosis and referral only.
• Whether they take appointments for children, and whether they have a Sehschule.
• Whether they do the eyesight test for a driving licence and issue the certificate on the spot.
• Whether the spectacle prescription is written at the same visit, or whether the measurement needs its own appointment.
• Which examinations are self-pay, and whether the cost sheet comes before the work.
• YabInfy checks none of this, so ask for it yourself, and ask to see the document where it matters.

Choosing from this list

Eye work happens in the room: measuring, examining and following up need the equipment and they need your actual eye. So how close the practice is matters, especially in treatment that runs appointment after appointment for months. The city list at the foot of the page shows where this specialty is registered.

Reviews here speak to what a patient can judge for themselves: how long the wait was, whether the measurement was done patiently or in a hurry, whether the cost of a self-pay item was made clear beforehand, how the reception desk treats people. They are not a verdict on the outcome of an operation or the accuracy of a diagnosis and should not be read as one. The "Show contact details" button on each profile opens that practice's own contact route, with nobody in between. YabInfy also neither keeps nor shows who looked at a profile or who made contact; what is public instead is the review you write yourself, under a name you choose.

Every medical field sits together in one place: Doctors. Eye drops and medication are dispensed by Pharmacies. If you have a question about reviews, badges or how this list works, see the FAQ. Run an eye practice and you are not here? Add your business.