The Professional Association of German Internists (BDI) was founded in 1959 during the 65th Congress of Internists in Wiesbaden. As the German Society of Internal Medicine (DGIM) was unable to deal with health policy issues in accordance with its statutes and objectives as a medical-scientific specialist society, the internists wanted to create a contact point for these issues. In its founding year, 1,800 internists from all over Germany were already members of the association.

It set up its first office on the premises of the Wiesbaden Municipal Hospital (now Helios Dr. Horst Schmidt Kliniken), in 1968 the association's office moved to Adolfsallee 25 and in 1982 to Schöne Aussicht 5.

Its membership has now grown to around 25,000 internists, and the association describes itself as the largest association of specialists in Europe. The BDI is led by an eleven-member board, which is headed by a three-member presidium. The Wiesbaden doctor Maximilian Broglie was president of the association from 1968-74.

In accordance with its statutes, the association promotes and represents the social and professional interests and other concerns of German internists. In particular, it promotes the professional training of specialists in internal medicine and organizes several international and regional congresses each year for this purpose. The BDI works closely with the DGIM. It is organized in 17 regional associations.

Weinholz, Harthmut; Matzkies, Gabriele: 50 Jahre BDI, Wiesbaden 2009 (published by the association itself).