Quick answer

Evaluate any Lyme clinic across six criteria: clinical experience and specialization, diagnostic capabilities, treatment transparency, published outcomes, international patient support (if applicable), and financial transparency. Ask specific questions. Watch for red flags. The right clinic will welcome scrutiny, not avoid it.

The six evaluation criteria

When you are living with chronic Lyme disease and researching treatment options, the volume of information can feel overwhelming. This framework gives you a structured way to compare clinics on the factors that actually matter for your care.

1 Clinical experience and specialization

How long has the clinic been treating Lyme disease specifically? Volume and duration of experience matter—not because older is always better, but because Lyme disease is clinically complex and pattern recognition improves with exposure.

How many Lyme patients has the clinic treated in total?
Is Lyme disease a primary focus or one of many conditions?
How many years has the lead physician been treating Lyme specifically?
Does the team include multiple disciplines (infectious disease, neurology, immunology)?
Can the clinic demonstrate experience with your specific presentation (chronic, neurological, co-infections)?

2 Diagnostic capabilities

Accurate diagnosis is the foundation of effective treatment. A clinic that starts treatment without thorough diagnostics is cutting corners—no matter how good their treatment protocols claim to be.

Does the clinic perform its own diagnostic workup or rely solely on outside test results?
Do they test for co-infections (Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Mycoplasma)?
What testing methods do they use? Do they go beyond standard ELISA/Western blot?
Do they assess immune function, inflammatory markers, and organ involvement?
Which laboratories do they work with, and are those labs recognized in the Lyme community?

3 Treatment transparency

Any clinic worth your trust will explain exactly what their treatment involves before you commit. Vagueness about protocols is a warning sign.

Can the clinic explain the scientific rationale for each treatment they offer?
Do they publish their treatment approach openly on their website or in clinical materials?
Are they honest about the limitations and potential side effects of their treatments?
Do they acknowledge what the evidence does and does not show?
Will they provide a written treatment plan before you begin?

4 Outcomes and honesty

This is where many clinics fail the test. Look for honesty about outcomes, not just success stories. Every legitimate treatment has patients who improve, patients who improve partially, and patients who do not respond.

Does the clinic share outcome data, even if it is institutional rather than trial-based?
Do they acknowledge that not all patients respond to their treatment?
Are patient testimonials presented as individual experiences with appropriate disclaimers?
Has the clinic published any research, case reports, or clinical data?
Do they avoid language like "cure," "guaranteed results," or "100% success rate"?

5 International patient support

If you are traveling for treatment, logistics matter more than you might expect. Feeling lost or unsupported in a foreign country while dealing with a serious illness can undermine your entire experience.

Does the clinic provide English-language support throughout the process?
Is there a dedicated international patient coordinator?
Do they help with travel logistics, accommodation, and local orientation?
What does post-treatment follow-up look like for international patients?
Will they coordinate with your home physician?

6 Financial transparency

Treatment costs for chronic Lyme can be substantial regardless of where you go. A trustworthy clinic is clear about costs upfront, not after you have already traveled or committed.

Will the clinic provide a detailed cost estimate before you commit?
Does the estimate include diagnostics, treatment, medications, and monitoring?
Are there common additional costs that are not included in the initial estimate?
What is their payment structure? Is payment required upfront or staged?
Do they provide documentation to support insurance reimbursement claims?

Questions to ask any clinic

Before committing to treatment at any facility, ask these questions directly. The quality of their answers will tell you a great deal about whether this is the right place for you.

Questions for your initial inquiry

How many Lyme disease patients have you treated, and over what time period?
What is your treatment approach, and what is the clinical rationale behind it?
What diagnostics will you perform, and which laboratories do you use?
What outcomes can I realistically expect, and what percentage of your patients see significant improvement?
What are the risks and potential side effects of your recommended treatment?
Can you provide a detailed cost estimate including all anticipated expenses?
What does post-treatment follow-up include, and for how long?
Can I speak with a former patient who had a similar presentation to mine?
What happens if treatment is not effective? Is there a follow-up plan?
Do you disclose any financial relationships or partnerships that could influence your recommendations?

Red flags to watch for

In our experience reviewing patient reports and clinical facilities, certain patterns consistently indicate clinics that are not acting in your best interest. If you encounter any of these, proceed with extreme caution.

Guaranteed outcomes. No legitimate treatment for chronic Lyme disease can guarantee results. If a clinic promises a cure or a specific outcome percentage without qualification, they are prioritizing marketing over honesty.

Pressure to commit quickly. "Limited spots available" or "prices going up next month" are sales tactics, not medical guidance. A responsible clinic will give you time to make an informed decision.

Vague protocols. If a clinic cannot or will not explain exactly what treatment involves, what the scientific basis is, and what the known risks are, they may not have a structured clinical approach.

No diagnostic workup before treatment. Any clinic that begins treatment without comprehensive diagnostics is making assumptions about your condition rather than decisions based on evidence.

Unwillingness to share outcome data. If a clinic treats large numbers of patients but has no outcome data to share—not even institutional data—that raises questions about whether they are tracking results at all.

Hidden costs. If you cannot get a clear, written cost estimate before committing, expect surprises. Financial ambiguity often masks escalating costs once you are already invested.

Dismissing other treatment options. A confident clinic does not need to disparage alternatives. If a clinic tells you their approach is the only valid option and everything else is worthless, they are more interested in your decision than your welfare.

No physician oversight. Lyme disease treatment should be directed by licensed physicians. If the clinical team is primarily non-physician practitioners without physician oversight, the treatment may not be medically supervised to the standard you need.

How Klinik St. Georg measures against these criteria

Editorial — Self-assessment

We believe in applying our own evaluation framework to the clinic we partner with. Here is how Klinik St. Georg measures against each criterion—including areas where we acknowledge limitations.

Criterion	Klinik St. Georg
Clinical experience	Treating Lyme patients since 1994. Over 12,000 Lyme patients. 30,000+ hyperthermia sessions. Three physicians with specific Lyme specialization. Lyme disease is a primary clinical focus.
Diagnostics	Comprehensive in-house diagnostic workup including co-infection panels, immune function assessment, and inflammatory markers. Works with specialized laboratories.
Transparency	Treatment approach published openly. Hyperthermia mechanism documented. This website discloses our partnership clearly on every comparison page. Risks and limitations stated.
Outcomes	Institutional outcome data tracked since 1994. Patient testimonials presented with disclaimers. We acknowledge that not all patients achieve full symptom resolution. Limitation: no published RCTs specifically for hyperthermia in Lyme disease.
International support	English-speaking coordination team. Travel and accommodation guidance. Remote follow-up consultations. Experience with patients from 90+ countries.
Financial transparency	Detailed cost estimate provided after initial consultation and before any commitment. Includes diagnostics, treatment, medications, and monitoring. Insurance documentation provided for reimbursement claims.

This self-assessment is inherently limited by our perspective. We encourage you to apply these criteria independently, speak with former patients, and seek multiple opinions before making your decision.

Our perspective

Editorial

We created this evaluation framework because we believe informed patients make better decisions—and better decisions lead to better outcomes, regardless of which clinic a patient ultimately chooses.

The Lyme disease treatment landscape is crowded with clinics of varying quality, transparency, and intent. Some are exceptional. Some are adequate. Some are exploiting the desperation of people who are suffering. Giving patients a structured way to tell the difference is one of the most useful things we can do.

We apply these criteria to our own partner institution because we believe that any clinic confident in its quality should welcome evaluation, not avoid it. We also acknowledge our limitations honestly, including the absence of RCT-level evidence for hyperthermia in Lyme disease.

Trust is built through transparency, not through marketing. Use this framework. Ask hard questions. Expect clear answers. The clinic that earns your trust through scrutiny is the one most likely to earn your confidence through care.

How to choose a Lyme treatment clinic