How does the results consultation work?

It takes place on the afternoon of the examination day, lasts 60 minutes and is held in person with a specialist. Everything available at that point is discussed: history, functional diagnostics, imaging and the rapidly available laboratory values. The consultation has four parts: interpretation of the findings, risk analysis in the context of your history, a prevention plan with a clear order of priority, and written documentation to take away. The GOÄ invoice comes with it. A second appointment follows for the specialist laboratory results, usually after two to three weeks.

An abnormal finding is a reason for work-up here and never a diagnosis. In the consultation we assess how likely the finding is to mean something, which explanations may sit behind it and what the sensible next step is. The work-up itself continues within specialist standard care, which is where we hand over along with the written documentation. We do not replace that path and deliberately offer no procedure whose purpose is to keep a finding in-house. How often broad diagnostics finds something nobody was looking for is documented with figures and sources on a page of its own.

The findings and the medical interpretation of them, plus the prevention plan. The reason for putting it in writing is practical: the documents should be shareable, with your GP, a specialist or a later treatment. A finding that exists only verbally is worthless over time. Along with it comes the invoice under the German medical fee schedule, which you can submit to private health insurance. What gets reimbursed depends on your policy and cannot be promised in general beforehand.

Yes, if you want that. Many find it helpful, because a great deal of information comes together in 60 minutes and two people retain more than one. The decision is explicitly yours and is made on the day itself, not beforehand by someone else. If a finding is very personal, the consultation can also be held in sections without the accompanying person. Just raise it at the start and the process will be set up accordingly.

Because not all values are available at the same speed. A standard blood count is available within hours and can be discussed the same afternoon. Genetic analyses, liquid biopsy and certain specialist laboratory values, by contrast, go through multi-stage procedures in external specialist laboratories. That time cannot be shortened without degrading what the result can tell you. The second appointment is therefore not an addendum but the point at which the plan from the first consultation is checked against the complete data. It takes place in person or by video.