Brian Recht, M.D.

Same-Day Appointments

Please Note

The office is temporarily closed, reopening August 4, 2025. Apologies for any inconvenience.

About Us

I am an American Board Certified Family Doctor based in San Sebastian, Spain. I practice according to American standards of care, providing the same evidence-based, patient-centered care one would receive in the United States. I see English speaking patients of all ages in my centrally located office in the Old Part of San Sebastian.

Brian Recht, M.D.

Brian is from Connecticut. He completed medical school at the University of Rochester in New York, and family medicine residency at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF)-affiliated Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, California. During medical school, he was elected to the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and in residency he was designated Chief Resident, and received the Hannon-Lauderdale Outstanding Resident Award. Dr. Recht is Board Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine, and licensed in both California and Spain.

Before coming to San Sebastian, he practiced in the San Francisco and Monterey areas of California, where he served as Volunteer Clinical Faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine.

In addition to being a physician, Brian is a mechanical engineer, and is licensed as a Professional Engineer (P.E.) in California.

Appointments

Appointments can be made in as little as 15 minutes in advance, depending on availability.

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Reviews

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by phil graves★★★★★ "Being new to San Sebastian, I was lucky to find Dr. Recht. I had an issue with my eye that I wanted looked at and I easily scheduled my appointment online. He spent time with me to fully understand my condition and explain in detail my diagnosis. He showed interest in me as a person and not just a patient. It is great to have a physician who is committed to providing high quality, patient-centered care and can help me navigate the San Sebastian health system when I have any illness."

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Eric Young★★★★★ "I am an Internist from Denver, CO, USA. During a year-long trip around the world with our kids, my wife and I found ourselves in San Sebastian in need of medical care. Dr. Brian was attentive, professional, and went above and beyond to coordinate our care within the local healthcare system. We are tremendously grateful for his time and expertise!"

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Estelle Lategan★★★★★ "My husband and I consulted Dr Recht as we suffered from severe sinusitis for the first few days of our trip. It was easy to make an appointment online. After a thorough examination and explanation of the diagnosis he prescribed antibiotics. All the admin for our medical insurance claim was promptly provided by Dr Recht. He furthermore followed up twice on our health. We can recommend Dr Rech without a doubt to any traveller."

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Evan Millan★★★★★ "Amazing doctor! Spent over 45 minutes with me doing a thorough examination/consultation - then spent the next few days following up regarding my progress over WhatsApp. Highly recommend."

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by J T★★★★★ "Brian was great. We contacted him when we weren't feeling well one night at 8pm. He responded within minutes and scheduled an appt for the following morning. Very thorough and thoughtful. Easy to talk with. Knowledgeable. He also did great follow-up after the appt. which he encouraged. Without him there, we were headed to the urgent care, which we checked out, had a 4+ hour wait, and wasn't pretty! Thanks Brian!!"

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Dan Mortley★★★★★ "We could not recommend Brian highly enough! We needed to see an english speaking doctor at the last minute and he was so helpful! I had a shocking earache and my partner got a nasty burn, and for both of us he had great knowledge and explained everything extremely clearly. He helped us get scripts, navigated the language barrier and outlined any next steps for us whilst in Spain. He also checked in with us regularly post-visit to ensure everything was still OK throughout our travels. Also just a super nice guy. Saved our trip, thank you!"

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Robbe 15★★★★★ "Extremely helpful experience with Dr. Recht! Couldn't recommend him enough. One of the nicest doctors visits I've ever had."

More Reviews

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Tim Flagstad

★★★★★ "Dr. Recht is an excellent doctor and basically a wonderful person. My wife found him on Google when we were traveling in San Sebastion Spain. I had a urinary infection as well as an upper respiratory problem. He made himself available right away and gave quite a bit of his time on the phone going over my sytoms and gave me a prescription I could fill right away unitl we cold meet in his office. My experience was really good and his follow-up was amazing. I definitely highly recommend!"

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by M Montes

★★★★★ "Truly grateful to have found Dr. Recht while spending time in San Sebastian. He is knowledgeable, professional and truly concerned about his patients. Dr. Recht was very thorough during consultation, he asked all the right questions. I left his office feeling heard and reassured. Thank you!"

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Daniela Bernhard

★★★★★ "very polite doctor who will stay in contact and asks for your recovery. As I was in pain (injury from walking the camino) it was possible to see him spontaneously and he took much time to care about my problems"

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Danna Hoshino

★★★★★ "My experience with The American Doctor, Dr. Brian Recht, was the best care I’ve received in many years. I was diagnosed at the end of my 6 week vacation in Spain with bacterial pneumonia, and I had to recover and be well enough to fly back to the U.S. in 10 days. He was very thorough, extremely kind and patient, listened to my fears and was genuinely interested in what I had to say. He correctly diagnosed me, explained my condition and treatment in detail, and charged a very reasonable fee for his service. But the incredible part was the fact that he went above and beyond and included a level of care, which very few doctors provide in today’s world. He actually called me every other night for a week at the same time to check on my condition, record any new symptoms or reactions to my medicine, take notes on my progress, and generally let me know he was there to reassure me. I felt seen, heard, and quickly healed. Dr. Recht is a truly compassionate doctor and goes out of his way to make his patients heal successfully. I can’t thank him enough for his service!"

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Marcos Casillas

★★★★★ "Dr. Recht was excellent! He saw and wife and I on short notice, listened attentively, discussed treatment options, and provided excellent care, a real jewel !"

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Aram Shahinfard

★★★★★ "I had a case of bad cough while visiting San Sebastian and I was worried due to pregnancy. Dr Recht was able to see us very quickly, although he said it was a viral infection and there isn’t much we could do about it, both my husband and I were happy that we saw him for the peace of mind. He was very good in explaining things to us. Suggested some safe remedies for me and followed up with me a few times after our visit."

Google review of The American Doctor | Urgent Care | Brian Recht, MD by Joel Bakan

★★★★★ "It can be unsettling to become ill while travelling abroad, not least because of the challenge of finding a doctor who you can trust and communicate with easily. We were “fortunate” to become ill within the vicinity of Dr. Brian Recht of San Sebastián, Spain ( Donostia). He is a truly gifted physician, extremely proficient at his profession, compassionate, genuinely concerned about his patients, and just a lovely human being. My wife and I both came down with a nasty bug during a cold, rain-drenched walk on the Camino del Norte. Once finding Dr. Recht through a Google search we booked appointments with him and then sequestered ourselves in a nearby hotel in San Sebastian to heal. Dr. Recht was so supportive and kind, thorough in his examinations and diagnoses, and diligent in following up and seeing how we were doing a few days after our appointments. We cannot recommend Dr. Recht highly enough."

For a complete listing of reviews:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/NAb3XsvEnCPv92fm7

Billing & Reimbursement

Visits are billed directly, and an Urgent Care Medical Clinic Visit receipt is issued. The fee is reimbursable by medical and travel insurance up to 100%, depending on coverage.