Portugal

Accessing care

With the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you can receive medically necessary treatment during a temporary stay in Portugal. Medically necessary treatment means treatment that cannot wait until you return home. You may need such treatment, for example, due to sudden illness or an accident.

You can also receive treatment related to pregnancy, childbirth, or chronic illnesses. If you have a condition that requires regular treatment while you are staying abroad, contact a health care provider in advance to arrange the treatment.

The European Health Insurance Card does not guarantee free treatment and you will be charged the same amount as local residents. We recommend carrying additional copies of your card. If you do not have a European Health Insurance Card or if it is not accepted, you will need to pay the cost of treatment yourself. You can then apply for reimbursement from Kela afterward.

Madeira and the Azores have their own practices. You can ask about Madeira practices at the Regional Health Department IASAUDE in Funchal (site in Portuguese). In the Azores, you can get information from the local health service department in Angra do Heroismo.

Sudden illness

Doctor

If you need to see a doctor in mainland Portugal, go to the nearest public health centre (Centro de Saúde), show your EHIC and ID and ask to receive treatment in accordance with EU provisions. The public health centres provide the services of general practitioners. If you contact the National Health Service contact line (SNS24) before seeking treatment and receive a referral you will not have to pay a fee for your treatment.

In urgent cases, go to the emergency department (Serviço Atendimento Permanente, SAP), which is open 24 hours a day, or to a hospital.

Dentist

There is a limited number of public dental services. You will have to pay a standard fee for treatment unless you have received a referral for treatment from the contact line SNS24. The standard fee varies according to the procedure or treatment received.

Medication

When you collect prescription medication prescribed by a doctor in Portugal from a pharmacy (farmácia), present your European Health Insurance Card. Part of the costs of medicines listed in the “Official List of Medicines Subsidised by the Health Services” are covered by the state. The amount covered varies and you will have to pay the part that is not covered, as well as the full price of medicines that are not on the list, upfront.

In some pharmacies, you can buy medicines with an electronic prescription that your doctor issued in Finland. You can find a listing of pharmacies accepting Finnish prescriptions on the website of Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (Serviços Partilhados do Ministério da Saúde, SPMS). You can purchase the medication by showing your passport or official identity card in the pharmacy. However, note that not all medicines can be purchased with an electronic prescription abroad. Check the restrictions on the Kanta.fi website. You can apply for reimbursement from Kela retrospectively.

Hospital treatment

Usually, you need a doctor’s referral from the primary healthcare centre for hospital treatment. At the hospital, show your European Health Insurance Card and ID and ask to receive treatment in accordance with EU provisions. You will pay a standard fee (taxa moderadora) for your treatment. The fees vary depending on the procedure. Patient transport in an emergency is free of charge.

If you receive a referral for treatment from the health care contact line (SNS24), you will not have to pay a fee for treatment.

If your illness requires you to use special transport when returning to Finland, you will be liable for the travel costs in their entirety. You are recommended to take out a travel insurance that covers these costs.

Read more about suddenly falling ill in Europe.

Read more about reimbursement of costs of treatment abroad.

Useful websites

If you want to travel to Portugal to use healthcare services there, you should read our website for general information about seeking treatment abroad.

You can find private healthcare service providers operating in Portugal most easily through internet search engines. There are more private hospitals and medical centres in larger towns and tourist areas, such as Lisbon, Porto, Cascais and Algarve.

You can also search for healthcare professionals registered with Portugal´s medical, dental and nurses associations from the Medical Association´s search services:

• Ordem dos enfermeiros (nurses)
• Ordem dos Médicos (doctor search service by speciality and on the basis of geographical area)
• Ordem dos Médicos Dentistas (search service for dentists by area and locality)

Quality and safety of treatment

The Portuguese Medical Association monitors the competence and legality of the activities of physicians. If you have doubts about the doctor´s competence, you can contact the Medical Association (Ordem dos Medicos, website in Portuguese) directly.

Information about healthcare quality control, complaint procedures and clinical standards are available on the website of the Entidade Reguladora da Saúde.

In the event of treatment injuries, the legislation and patient insurance of the country providing the treatment is always applied. In case you are unhappy with the treatment you received, you should primarily try to sort the matter out with the treatment provider. If you wish to make a complaint, you must contact the Entidade Reguladora da Saúde.

Healthcare system

The Portuguese healthcare system is characterized by three coexisting, overlapping systems: the National Healthcare Service NHS (Serviço Nacional de Saúde, SNS), special public and private insurance schemes for certain professions (health subsystems), and private voluntary health insurance. The healthcare system in Portugal consists of a network of public and private health care providers; each of them is connected to the patients in its own way.

The National Healthcare Service provides primary, hospital, ambulatory, palliative and continuous care (long-term care). The National Healthcare Service is managed by the Ministry of Health. There are private healthcare services that have an agreement with the National Healthcare Service and have the same costs for the patient as public healthcare. For non-contracted private health services, the costs of treatment are paid in full by the patient.