The emergency medical service number (112) provides professional, pre-clinical medical assistance for emergency patients. This service is organised and run by the federal states and governed by state laws. Most of its funding comes from statutory health insurance.

Insured persons can call 116117, to access so-called appointment booking platforms (Terminservicestellen), which are operated 24/7 by the associations of health insurance providers . In acute cases requiring urgent care outside the emergency medical service, immediate medical care must be provided at the appropriate level (e.g. an open medical practice, an on-call medical practice, an accident and emergency department at a hospital or, where appropriate, a telephone consultation).