Health care will probably be one of your major concerns about moving to the Czech Republic. Rest assured! The country has a modern and developed health care system comprising more than 25,000 hospitals, clinics as well as many private doctors. In fact, the country was ranked 13th out of 35 European countries according to the European Consumer Health Care Index. Access to health care is more or less easy, although there are fewer specialists compared to West European countries.
Health care system
The Czech healthcare system consists of public and private health care centres.
Note that the Czech Republic has a higher number of doctors per inhabitants among all European Union countries.
Public hospitals are managed by the government are generally very well equipped. Most of them can accommodate up to 1,000 patients. You can find public hospitals in all major cities. District hospitals are found in densely populated areas.
The country also hosts smaller clinics that can accommodate up to 200 patients. However, these only provide basic health care services, along with emergency services. These also have a surgery department, as well as an in-patient department.
Health insurance
Like most countries in the European Union, the Czech Republic has something known as the universal health care system. There are specifics and peculiarities to the application of the system in each country ' but, in general, this means that basic medical services are free for all.
To make this possible, those legally residing in the country make contributions to the system.
Similarly, the public health insurance system in the Czech Republic is based on compulsory contributions of insured residents. In the case of foreign nationals legally working in the Czech Republic, their employers will pay health insurance contribution automatically.
With that, families of legal employees and all others will need to purchase private health care insurance. Those working independently will need to make health care contributions individually in the amount of 13,5% of the tax base.
If you hold the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), this will cover basic medical expenses including emergencies. However, your EHIC card will not cover medical care in a private hospital or non-medical expenses like an emergency flight back to your home country. This is why it is generally recommended to purchase travel insurance prior to visiting the country, which will cover more complex medical procedures.
Private health insurance in the Czech Republic
There are many insurance companies to choose from in Scotland, according to your needs and budget. Some of the leading health insurance providers are:
Consider having a look at their offers according to your needs and get a free quote on Expat.com's Health Insurance for expatriates in the Czech Republic page.
Doctors and conditions
On your arrival, you are required to designate a reference doctor, paediatrician, dentist and gynaecologist. You are allowed to change your general practitioner or specialist every three months. Regardless of your choice, both you and your doctor must be registered with the same insurance.
You can also consult a specialist without a prior recommendation from your general practitioner. However, this implies that there will be no follow up between both parties. You may thus have to consult two different doctors for the same health issue.
Emergency
In smaller communities, doctors tend to stick together and to replace each other in case of an emergency at patients house outside office hours or in the absence of the doctor. In bigger towns, specialized cabinets and hospitals have set up emergency services that also provide dental care.
Preventive health care
The Czech Republic is very vigilant regarding health issues. Therefore, companies make room for preventive care organizations. Their mission is to ensure the prevention of occupational accidents and the protection of employees against diseases and health hazards at their place of work via several measures: counselling, routine checks on the premises, preventive health consultations, among others.
Pharmacies and medication
You will find around 2,500 pharmacies across the country. Some drugs are only available upon prescription while others are available at the counter. Patients are immediately covered by their insurance. You can thus have to pay either part of the price, or whole, or even nothing, depending on the conditions.
The validity of prescriptions varies according to the type of medication and illness:
- 24 hours for a prescription issued by the emergency service
- 5 days for an antibiotics prescription
- 3 days for an opiates prescription
- 1 week for other prescriptions.
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