Visit to the doctor in Italy: Everything you need to know

Visit to the doctor in Italy: Everything you need to know

Doctor visit to Italy: Tips for successful treatment abroad

If you plan a trip to Italy, you usually think of famous cities such as Rome, Milan or Venice, the ski areas in the Alps or the beaches on the Italian coasts. A sudden illness or an accident during the stay will probably come to mind. But if a visit to the doctor abroad is necessary, it is good to know the regulations of the statutory health insurance companies and private insurance. We have summarized all questions and answers about the doctor's visit to Italy.

The Italian health system (in Italian: Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, for short SSN) is predominantly tax -financed and should guarantee free basic care to every citizen. At the local level, all responsibilities are bundled at the Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL), the municipal health department. The general practitioners of the state system either work with the ASL or are directly employed.

If you want to take advantage of the benefits of the state health service, you must first register with the Nazionale Servizio Sanitario. When registering, you will be asked to choose a family doctor (Medico Convenzionato). If you have children under the age of six, you have to choose a pediatrician (Pediatra). In order to make it easier for you to choose a doctor, the local health authority provides you with a list. General practitioners or general practitioners for the whole family (Medici Generici) can be found in the yellow pages under Medici Generici; Specialists or specialists under Specialisti and the respective specialist area.

The opening times of the doctor's practices are different. Most practices are open in the morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and in the afternoon from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. However, it can also happen that a practice is only open from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

As a rule, no fixed dates are assigned, but the principle "Whoever comes first, grinds first". It is therefore advisable to appear in practice at an early stage in order to avoid long waiting times. The family doctor examines you and issues you a recipe (Ricetta) if necessary, which you can redeem in the pharmacy. The technical equipment of the general practitioner practices is rather simple: For many examinations that are carried out directly at the family doctor in Germany, a transfer to the specialist is required in Italy. For laboratory or X-ray examinations, the family doctor makes an appointment in the nearest hospital. If a specialist has to be consulted, the family doctor will also recommend a specialist who works as part of the state social security.

In Italy, it often happens that general practitioners who work in the state health service also practice as private doctors or specialists. It may therefore be that your family doctor offers you a private appointment for special treatments. In this case, the investigations usually take place in separate private practices separated from public practices. However, if you don't know exactly what you are missing, you should first consult a family doctor.

Although the public health system in Italy is fundamentally free for patients, additional payments are incurred for many benefits that are set at regional level. These additional payments are often referred to as "ticket". Recipe fees are also common. Visits to the family doctor, pediatrician, mandatory vaccinations, compulsory examinations during pregnancy and hospital stays are free of charge. An HIV test can also be carried out free of charge and anonymously in public health facilities. In addition, people with low incomes or chronic diseases have the opportunity to be free from the ticket fee.

Free treatment is also possible with the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which is valid across Europe and thus also in Italy. However, the additional payments are the same as for Italian patients. Tourists can choose a family doctor (Medico di Base) with the EHIC. A corresponding list is available from the local ASL. If necessary, the family doctor can issue a transfer to a specialist. The treatment of chronic diseases such as dialysis is not covered in Italy by the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). In such cases, you should make appropriate agreements with your health insurance company and the service provider at the holiday location.

In Italy you can make an appointment with a private doctor, specialist or specialists at any time. Specialists can either be connected to hospitals or found in large medical centers. However, patients often have to wait for an appointment for months. In order to avoid the long waiting times in the public system, it can make sense to see a private doctor. However, this has its price because the costs are not covered by statutory health insurance in the home country. During a visit to the private or specialist, a registration fee of around twelve euros must be expected. In addition, there are further fees for every visit to the doctor that can be between 40 and 160 euros depending on the type of treatment. You usually have to pay for these fees immediately after visiting the doctor, even if you k