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, the association already had 1,800 internists from all over Germany.

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.

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

According to 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.