Munich is famous for its beer festivals, culture, sporting heritage and countless other things. Yet most residents of Bavaria's capital city (and Germany's economic powerhouse) do not realise that Munich is also one of the world's foremost destinations for patients seeking specialist medical treatment abroad. Healthcare tourism in Munich is a booming business and continues to grow at a staggering rate. This is in part due to the famous German education system, which gives rise to an enviable home-grown medical profession, but is also due to the state-of-the-art facilities which many clinics in Munich invest in.  As a wealthy city, you can judge a region's affluence by how much is invested in medical care, and nowhere is that more obvious than in Munich.

Having world-beating sports facilities and teams provides a lot of the impetus behind the motivation to make Munich the destination of choice for professional athletes looking for the best treatment that money can buy. The world class football team Bayern Munich are based here and if their medical needs are satisfied by the medical expertise available in their home city, then who are we to argue. So, what with the investment, the highly skilled medical workforce, the world-famous reputation, then it is no wonder that people from around the globe are seeking out top class treatment at one of Munich's top clinics.

The problem for foreigners however, is that without a rich sports club to guide you through the processes and form-filling, potential patients can be intimidated out of starting the task to come here for treatment. Add to that the language barrier, and there is a real need for an intermediary to smooth and push everything along. One such company, Munich Healthcare Agents (MHA), is run by expatriate Anna Buryak who has been living in the city for over a decade. Her team of healthcare agents bring a wealth of experience in handling German bureaucracy and dealing with specialist clinics. Covering every major language and comprised mostly of foreigners, MHA are in a unique position to understand the needs of the visiting patient, as well as being able to interface with the plethora of clinics available here. "It is not just help with filling out forms and speaking the language", states Ms. Buryak, "but a willingness and ability to empathise with people coming to an unfamiliar environment to seek treatment. Many of these people are coming alone and are often a little nervous, which is why our services are so popular".

MHA are in the business of providing a level of understanding which only expatriates can understand. Which is great news for those patients who wish to take advantage of Munich's top standing in the medical world, while also being guided through the administration process by someone from their own country, who speaks their language and knows what it means to be a foreigner in a foreign land.

Ms. Buryak and her team are on hand to answer all your questions and to ease the process for any prospective Munich healthcare tourists coming to Munich. From all the expatriates in the city, it is companies like MHA which help us enjoy life here and provide that extra level of familiarity which we all need at certain times in life.