what to do if you are sick or injured in italy

Healthcare in Italy: the 2020 guide for expats and travelers

Written on:
January 14, 2020

Healthcare in Italy

How does healthcare in Italy piece of work? Is information technology free? How practice I use my Tessera Sanitaria? Stressed out already? We've picked the near confusing points in an attempt to guide yous through the Italian Healthcare Organization.

Is healthcare gratuitous in Italia?

Healthcare in Italy is not complimentary, but the fees are usually quite reasonable and Emergency Medical Assist is provided to anyone in need, regardless of their nationality, without asking for upfront payment.

Healthcare in Italy is provided to anyone with a mixed Public and Private system. Italian law recognizes health as a fundamental correct of every person and anyone present in Italian republic is entitled to a form of healthcare (a concept known equally "Universal Wellness Care").

The average level of medical care is quite high compared to international standards (Italian healthcare organisation ranked 2nd best in terms of performance in the World according to the World Wellness Organization'due south report), and Italian doctors are usually highly qualified. Life expectancy in Italy is among the highest in the OECD grouping of countries (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). See the 2019 OECD report about healthcare in Italy.

Italy has universal healthcare coverage, only only some services are completely free

Near services demand a toll-sharing and many are provided at the patient's full expense.

The co-pay fee is called "Ticket" and it is applied to some emergency room visits, specialist consultations, diagnostic procedures and lab analyses.

The amount of the co-pay is different from region to region and it depends on the type of services required and on the patient'southward status (there are forms of exemption –esenzionein Italian – for low income and serious illnesses).

The amount of the co-pay is different from region to region and it depends on the type of services required and on the patient's condition

Public healthcare in Italy

The Italian National Healthcare Service (SSN –Servizio Sanitario Nazionale) is the Public, taxation-funded medical assistance, organized and regulated by the Ministry of Wellness and administered through regional government. To access the Italian National Healthcare Service you must hold a validTesseraSanitaria (Italian Health Insurance Card) or the equivalent from another Eu country (the EHIC carte – European Wellness Insurance Carte du jour).

Foreign citizens with regular stay let are fully entitled to the aforementioned rights and handling as any Italian denizen.

Public healthcare is provided through regional health units called ASL (Azienda Sanitaria Locale – Local Health Authority) and Public Hospitals. In Rome, for instance, there are six Public Hospitals, and more than 50 ASL offices.

The ASL is an administrative organization, which manages a gear up of public clinics and medical services (e.g. vaccination centers, public walk-in clinics, labs for analyses and imaging, etc.).

Public medical aid includes a network of main intendance physicians and pediatricians.

You will be asked to cull your public Primary Care Dr. (calledmedico di base, your personal physician). Once registered with your public Primary Care Physician, you are entitled to complimentary consultations, referrals and prescription refills with this doctor, within his or her office hours. Make certain to choose a physician who has convenient office hours, especially if you have difficulty leaving work to see the md.

Foreign citizens with regular stay permit are fully entitled to the same rights and treatment as any Italian citizen.

Individual healthcare in Italy

Individual healthcare in Italy, as in other countries, is provided at a fee. In most cases yous will be required to pay upfront for the services, installment payment options are usually bachelor for larger sums (e.g. for hospitalisation or elective surgery). As a large pct of Italians rely on Public Healthcare, Private medical services are rarely overcrowded and usually provide a more comfortable experience and a ameliorate customer intendance.

Medical fees in Italia are unremarkably very reasonable, compared to other countries with similar cost of living.

Individual hospitals in Italy ofttimes operate as well in agreement with the Italian National Healthcare Service. When they do, they are in the category chosenPrivato Convenzionato (Individual with agreement). This ways they can also be accessed with the Italian Health Insurance Card (Tessera Sanitaria), under certain conditions. If they have an Emergency Room (Pronto Soccorso) it is certainly accessible through Public Healthcare.

If you wish to admission services at a Private dispensary using yourTessera Sanitaria, you need to communicate this in advance, as there are dedicated slots for Public Healthcare. If yous fail to communicate it in advance, you volition be required to pay equally a private patient.

Medical fees in Italia are commonly very reasonable, compared to other countries with similar cost of living.

What can I do with the Italian health insurance card (Tessera Sanitaria)?

When you get your Tessera Sanitaria (Italian Health Insurance Menu) you are officially entitled to the same rights and duties regarding healthcare as Italian citizens. For example you tin can:

Choose your Public Primary Intendance Physician or a Pediatrician for your children (<14 y.o.)
Get vaccinations
Come across a specialist doctor (e.g. a gynecologist, a cardiologist, etc)
Have lab tests and diagnostics (ultrasound, 10-ray, etc)
Get prescriptions for medications
Be admitted to a Hospital
See a dentist at a public hospital

I'm a European citizen traveling to Italy. Practice I go free medical assistance?

Equally a EU Citizen or permanent resident, you should have your EHIC (European Wellness Insurance Menu). The EHIC card gives yous access to Healthcare in Italian republic as if you were an Italian resident.

You lot will have gratis access to Public Primary Care Physicians, Emergency Rooms (for emergency just!) and discounted access to specialists and diagnostic procedures, if prescribed by a Doctor inside the Italian Healthcare National Service (SSN – Servizio Sanitario Nazionale).

The EHIC card won't cover yous if y'all wish to access private clinics and doctors, so you may want to purchase a individual travel or medical insurance every bit well.

With the EHIC card, you take admission to the aforementioned benefits of an Italian denizen holding the local Italian Wellness Insurance Card ( Tessera Sanitaria ) then everything you find in this article in relation to how to use the Tessera Sanitaria applies to you likewise.

Then what is free in the Italian National Healthcare Service?

Consultations with your public Primary Care Physician (Medico di base) and with the pediatrician (Pediatra di libera scelta) are gratis. Infirmary access is complimentary if you lot are admitted for a necessary procedure. If you desire to accept an elective procedure (for instance a preventive bank check up), this would non be free.

Some specialist consultations, lab analyses, and diagnostic procedures are free, but only if prescribed by your public Principal Intendance Doc (medico di base).

You tin can book them with a then called "Reddish prescription" (in Italian "Ricetta Rossa" – also calledimpegnativa – information technology is the official certificate that shows you are doing a procedure within the Italian National Healthcare Service).

Besides some medicines are complimentary (normally the ones related to serious disease or life threatening conditions) while for others you can go a discounted fee if yous have a red prescription from your public Main Care Physician (dr. di base).

Some specialist consultations, lab analyses, and diagnostic procedures are costless, but only if prescribed by your public Primary Care Physician (medico di base).

Limits of public healthcare in Italian republic

Every bit with all things costless, there is a flip side of the money. To avert being disappointed, keep in heed that:

Your principal care doctor – self-employed, though nether NHS – will be available to see you but in pre-set office hours, dissimilar for each medico. House calls will exist provided very rarely, only in example of objective demand.
The md's office may exist crowded and appointments are generally not bachelor (patients are seen in order of arrival). If the part is too full, you lot may need to go dorsum another day.
Most general practitioners working as Italian National Healthcare Service doctors exercise not speak English, so yous might non be able to communicate effectively if y'all don't learn Italian.
Hospitals are big and can be very disruptive, you are likely to end up wandering effectually looking for the right desk or waiting for a while, even if you accept an appointment.
If y'all demand to do a diagnostic procedure for something not urgent, or to see a specialist through the Italian National Healthcare Service (SSN – Servizio Sanitario Nazionale), you may cease upwards waiting weeks, or even months before in that location is an available engagement.
Y'all cannot choose your doctor, when being referred to see a specialist. You will be seen by whoever is available at the fourth dimension of your appointment, inside the requested specialty.

How do I see a public chief care doc in Italy?

If you are registered with the Italian National Healthcare Service (SSN – Servizio Sanitario Nazionale), you have also selected your public Primary Care Physician (physician di base), the general practitioner who is in charge of your health. You tin can go visit this physician within the official working hours he or she has declared. You can as well call to asking a house visit, if yous cannot get out of bed.

I need to meet a doctor when my primary intendance doc is not available

On Saturdays, Sundays, and during the night (from 8pm to 8 am) every mean solar day, or if you are in a different urban center and cannot see your personal medico, you can notice primary intendance assistance at a Healthcare Aid Continuity Center almost you lot ( unremarkably known asServizio di continuità assistenziale in Italian)where yous volition be seen by an NHS physician who can assist you with prescriptions and refills, medical consultations and dressing of minor wounds. This may have a fee, depending on local and regional rules. This public centers are available also for telephone consultations, though the staff may not speak English.

Healthcare in Italia for tourists

During the summer, in the areas with high tourist flow, a Doctor on Duty service for tourists is activated. For organizational reasons, this service requires the payment of the visit by all tourists. The fee can be dissimilar in every Region.

If you lot adopt a private alternative or to encounter an English speaking doctor, it would be meliorate to volume an appointment at a private medical center defended to English language speaking patients, or to discover a private walk-in clinic conspicuously offer services in English language. In this example you would accept to pay a fee, probably higher than the one you would pay for the Medico on Duty service. The invoice given to you later the consultation tin can be used to claim for refund with your individual medical insurance provider.

How can I see a private medico?

To run into a Individual physician, regardless of your nationality, you can contact a private medical center to book an appointment, to acquire about walk-in hours or to asking a specialist. Some services are more prepared to aid English speaking patients, a good way to know is to check if the staff who answers the phone speaks English. Individual doctor fees should be the same for Italian and foreign patients (if they are different beware of a possible scam!). Your travel insurance or medical insurance is probable to cover the price of your consultation, especially if you get sick or injured during your time in Italy.

One of the fastest way to find an English language-speaking doc in Italian republic is to use Doctors in Italy, a network of the all-time Italian wellness care professionals advisedly selected for their international groundwork. The mission of Doctors in Italy is to remove the pain points from finding a health professional person while visiting or living in Italy. Trusted by diplomatic delegations and international organizations, Doctors in Italy'south network is rapidly growing and includes only the best hospitals and doctors beyond the country.

Online consultations

Virtual intendance is a great alternative for addressing whatsoever urgent or time-sensitive health questions.

In that location are probably times when you're pretty sure you know what's going on (that burning sensation when yous pee has to be a UTI) but if yous're far from your medico and don't speak the local language, this can be a hassle.

With DoctorsinItaly you lot tin see a master intendance physician or a medical specialist on-need, licensed in Italia guaranteed to speak English language. This means that the doctor is authorized to prescribe medication in Italy (that would non exist possible with services offered by non-Italian doctors who are not authorized to practice in Italia).

Video visits take a much lower cost than an office visit, can exist arranged in minutes and provide the patients with a prescription that can exist filled at whatever pharmacy, anywhere in Italia.

Can pharmacists prescribe in Italia?

No, but medical doctors licensed and authorized to practice in Italy can prescribe medication in Italy. Pharmacists dispense medicinal products by prescription from a licensed medical provider or can recommend over the counter medication.

How to get antibiotics in Italia?

Yous need a medical prescription issued by a doctor who is licensed in Italy. Pharmacists cannot dispense antibiotics without a valid medical prescription. This rule is necessary for preventing the corruption of antimicrobial usage and the development of antibiotic resistance.

Can you get antibiotics over the counter in Italy?

No. Pharmacists are not allowed to dispense antibiotics without a valid medical prescription issued by a doctor licensed in Italy.

Filling a prescription in Italian republic

If yous have a valid medical prescription issued by a doctor licensed in Italy either later on an in-person or a telemedicine appointment, you can fill it at any pharmacy across Italy.

Tin I get a prescription filled in another country?

In theory a medical prescription issued in a Eu land must exist recognised in all other European union countries (Article eleven of Directive 2011/24/EU of 9 March 2011). In practise the chemist very even so decline to dispense the medication. The easiest way to go along is to ask a local doctor to re-issue the prescription.

How much does a prescription price in Italian republic?

You cannot "purchase" a prescription. You can have a consultation with a dr. who can issue a prescription for a medication you demand. If you use DoctorsinItaly yous can easily become it washed through a video consultation at a very affordable fee (usually around xx EUR). Please consider that controlled substances cannot exist prescribed via video consultation.

I need to meet a specialist physician

For specialist consultations, many Italians rely on individual medical centers for increased condolement, closer doctor-patient relationship, more flexibility in scheduling options and faster access to medical assistance.

Consultations with a specialist prescribed by master care physicians of the National Healthcare in Italian republic (like your "medico di base of operations", a main care physicianwho is role of the Italian NHS or past other doctors you lot see within the NHS), can be arranged at either Public Healthcare Centres or at the ones that are private with NHS agreement (which is calledPrivato Convenzionato). These services are subject to co-payment (called Ticket), which is non-refundable.

If you are looking for the least expensive option you can either go to an Emergency Department (if information technology is something very serious and urgent) or yous can book an engagement at a public hospital (if it is not urgent).

If you go to the Emergency Room for a non-urgent need, you are likely to end upwardly waiting a long time, paying the Ticket, and simply being referred for a consultation with a specialist, without seeing one.

Moreover you would be increasing the workload of a frail system, often on the verge of collapse. The co-pay for non-emergency cases is intended as a means to avert patients overcrowding the ER, limiting admission to those who really demand emergency assistance.

To see a specialist (e.g. an obgyn, a dermatologist, a cardiologist) through the Italian NHS yous need showtime to come across your public Primary Care Dr. to get a referral in the form of a scarlet prescription (ricetta rossa).

If you really need to run across the specialist soon, your family medico can request an urgent appointment in the prescription (within x days or inside 30 days), which will give you access to an earlier bachelor slot saved for urgent needs.

Once y'all have the red prescription, y'all can book your appointment online (in some regions, for Lazio see hither) or by calling the regional CUP (Centro Unico di Prenotazione Regionale– regional central booking part – 803333 for Lazio). You tin also call directly a Infirmary at their Loving cup phone number. You will need an Italian friend to help you book the appointment: in that location is no translation or English language-speaking operator. Call back that you cannot choose your md, the earliest publicly available engagement volition exist assigned to you by the operator.

Make certain to go well ahead of the appointment, particularly if information technology is your first time, as information technology can be quite difficult to locate the correct ward, complete the administrative procedures, pay theTicket (the co-pay fee) and find the right waiting area.

Where tin can I go if I need claret tests, x-ray, or other diagnostic process?

The process is similar to seeing a specialist. You can choose between:

A Public Hospital or Dispensary (with yourricetta rossa, prepared by your public Primary Care Doctor)
A Private Hospital, Clinic or Lab with NHS Agreement (also withricetta rossa and specifying you need the procedure as Italian National Healthcare Service patient –paziente SSN) – if you don't specify in accelerate y'all will exist required to pay every bit Individual patient
A Private Medical Center, Clinic or Lab where you tin accept this procedure (inquire if they have the test or diagnostic procedure you need).

Proceed in mind that public clinics and hospitals do not send results over email, so if you lot do lab analyses you lot will need to go dorsum in person to collect the results.

Public labs and hospitals do not send results over electronic mail, so if you do lab analyses y'all volition need to go dorsum in person to collect the results.

What practise I practice if I demand emergency medical aid or if I have an accident?

Emergency medical assistance in Italy is provided to everyone, without asking for upfront payment or insurance information. If y'all are in a medical emergency, you can take a taxi and walk-in to the closestPronto Soccorso (Emergency Room).

For emergency help you can too use European Emergency number,call112 (no country code needed). The emergency medical assistance number 118 will enquire questions nigh the patient'southward conditions, address, phone number to attain y'all. If the patient needs urgent access to an ER, they will transport an ambulance or a helicopter.

The service is provided at no charge, simply of course simply for serious medical conditions requiring emergency response. The ambulance will have you to an Emergency Room where y'all will be evaluated and treated as soon as possible.

Patients accessing the ER are not seen in gild of arrival just based on the urgency of their need, assessed through a standard evaluation process chosentriage which assigns them a color code

Alternatives to the Emergency Room for minor issues.

If you go to the ER for non-emergency needs, you will be required to pay the ticket and you are very likely to stop up waiting a long fourth dimension as all emergency patients will exist assisted before you.

Infirmary assistance and admission, if required, is free of accuse if you lot have the EHIC card or the Italian Health Insurance Card (Tessera Sanitaria).

If you don't, the fees are still very reasonable, and if y'all continue the receipts you may be reimbursed past your private medical insurance provider.

If y'all want a private room and more comfort, you can asking it at a charge. You tin can also be transferred to a Private Hospital of your choice past arranging access. You will get the quotation in accelerate, so you can choose if you lot wish to exist transferred.

The qualifications of doctors at public and private hospitals are the same, the difference would be in comfort, access to English Speaking staff in selected clinics, the possibility to cull your dr., and in some cases a shorter waiting fourth dimension for a surgery (for non life threatening orthopedic surgery, for example).

Will any medico accept my tessera sanitaria?

The answer is No.

Your Italian Health Insurance Carte du jour (Tessera Sanitaria) will work merely with your Public Primary Care Doctor, who is your go-to doctor, and the doctors at the public clinics called "servizio di continuità assistenziale" dedicated to patients who are not in their electric current city of residence (or with urgent needs that cannot wait for the doctor's working hours). If yous have the EHIC menu and are non registered with whatever specific public Primary Care Physician, you tin get to any Public Master Intendance Doctor for medical assistance.

Can I go a prescription refill? And are medications gratis with tessera sanitaria?

Your National Healthcare Service Main Intendance Doc can give you a free prescription refill if yous need information technology. As for the toll of medicines, in Italy they are rarely very expensive in general. With the carmine prescription given to you by a National Healthcare Service Doctor (if you have a Tessera Sanitaria) some medicines are free (usually the ones related to serious affliction or life threatening conditions) while for others you can get a discounted fee.

I'm from Australia and I need medical assistance, do I need to pay?

The reciprocal understanding between your country of origin and Italy allows you to access Public Healthcare in Italian republic at no fee or at a lower fee, without registering to the NHS, under certain conditions:

It needs to be essential medical care that can't expect till you get dwelling house
You need to become through the National Healthcare Service, Individual medical centers are not covered
Information technology is valid only for 6 months from your arrival

The understanding covers medical care if admitted to a infirmary and for outpatient handling, but only at Public Hospitals, Public Primary Intendance Physicians and Public Outpatient Clinics.

Coverage may vary from country to land, check hither if your country of origin has reciprocal healthcare agreement with Italy and what is covered.

DoctorsinItaly Team

This commodity was written, curated, and updated past the DoctorsinItaly team, as part of our efforts to share relevant and current information on health and health related topics, as well as on life as an expat or traveler in Italy.