BAD BERKA – November 14, 2026 -- ClarCert has certified the joint replacement unit of Zentralklinik Bad Berka as a maximum-care endoprosthetics centre (EPZ MAX). The unit implants knee or hip prostheses in more than 400 patients a year.
About 25% of those cases are complicated or revision procedures, according to the clinic. By our calculation, that is roughly 100 or more such operations a year at the Thuringian hospital.
ClarCert audits planning, operating time and complication rates
External experts assess surgical preparation and planning, operating time and postoperative results, including X-ray images. They also review the complication rate and the full care pathway, from the preoperative consultation to aftercare in rehabilitation. The audit covers difficult cases such as complex revision procedures, which require experienced surgeons.
Certification requires senior lead surgeons who can document at least 100 joint replacement procedures each. The EPZ MAX level also sets higher requirements for interdisciplinary cooperation, according to department head Dr. Daniel Waciakowski. He cites the clinic's intensive care unit, its work with cardiology and other specialties, and an interdisciplinary tumour conference. The clinic did not publish its complication rate or the length of the certificate's validity.
Joint replacement accounts for about 1% of Bad Berka's annual patient volume
Zentralklinik Bad Berka treats around 40,000 patients a year. The 400-plus knee and hip implant patients therefore make up about 1% of the total, by our calculation. The hospital has 21 specialist clinics and departments and 1,800 employees, and belongs to RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG.
The certification covers the Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery clinic within the hospital's Musculoskeletal Centre. Patients with comorbidities or a need for revision surgery are the group most affected by the higher standard, because the audit tests those cases specifically.
Dr. Waciakowski says the clinic plans to keep developing minimally invasive hip implantation, robotic knee replacement and revision arthroplasty.