Medicine in Cyprus

Cyprus is among the countries with the lowest cost of medical care in Europe, although the qualifications of doctors are not lower than in wealthy countries: most Cypriot doctors studied in Europe, the USA, Great Britain and Israel. Childbirth is especially popular in Cyprus, surrounded by fertile nature, and the services of dentists, rehabilitation specialists and plastic surgeons are also a success. Due to the lack of funding, medicine in Cyprus is experiencing difficulties, in particular, access to high-tech care and services to the population in rural areas is difficult.

The healthcare system in Cyprus

The health insurance system in Cyprus was introduced in 2019; before that, the costs of treatment and prevention of diseases were financed from the state budget. At present, medical services are subsidized from the General Compulsory Health Insurance (GESY) funds, which supplement the regular contributions of the economically active population. Primary medical care in Cyprus within the framework of compulsory health insurance is provided in health centers at the place of residence; access of foreigners to insurance medicine depends on immigration status and citizenship:

• citizens of the EU and Eurozone countries with permanent residence - on the EHIC card in municipal clinics;
• immigrants from third countries with permanent residence and the right to work - under compulsory medical insurance;
• foreigners with a temporary visa - under commercial insurance.

The state insurance pays for family doctor and pediatrician consultations, emergency care, inpatient treatment, basic diagnostics and preventive care. The franchise size increases depending on the income; free medical services under compulsory medical insurance are provided to children under 18 years of age, pregnant women, civil servants, the military and recipients of the minimum basic income, including:

• parents on parental leave;
• large families with four or more children;
• the poor (income below 15 thousand EUR per year, pension below 500 EUR);
• unemployed and people with disabilities.

Specialized and high-tech medical care in Cyprus is subsidized by quotas - up to 150 EUR for able-bodied Cypriots and up to 75 EUR for pensioners, the poor, temporarily unemployed and children under 18 years of age. Specialized doctors in Cyprus accept patients under compulsory health insurance in public hospitals located in the five largest cities of the island; A referral from a family doctor is required when applying. Commercial travel insurance covers single visits to the doctor and emergency care, specialist services are included only in premium packages.

Ambulance in Cyprus

All emergency services - police, rescuers and ambulances in Cyprus receive calls at 112; moreover, in case of a threat to your life, you will be treated free of charge even without insurance. If the dispatcher considers that there are no grounds for leaving, you can call an ambulance or a doctor at home for a fee in a private clinic; call price - from 80 EUR. In case of acute conditions that are not life-threatening, use the right of an emergency appointment with a family doctor; after hours, emergency medical care is provided in the emergency departments of hospitals; the cost of the visit is from 10 EUR.

How to make an appointment with a doctor in Cyprus

In large cities, an electronic appointment with a doctor in Cyprus has been opened through the website of the National Health Service. To do this, you need to fill out a simple form in which the patient indicates his first and last name, contact details, ID-card number, age and reason for contacting. Within two days after submitting the application, the clinic administrator will contact you to agree on the date and time of the visit. If your medical institution is not in the database of the site or you prefer the services of private clinics, you can make an appointment with a doctor in Cyprus by phone.

Waiting time for an appointment / consultation with a doctor in Cyprus

An appointment does not guarantee that a doctor's consultation in Cyprus will take place at the appointed time - you often have to wait 2-3 hours or more for an appointment, and it is better to submit an application a week or two before a planned visit. Waiting to see a specialist can take weeks or months; to get an appointment in the next couple of days, wealthy patients turn to private clinics.

If you sign up for a consultation with a doctor in Cyprus for a fee, you don’t need a referral, but you can’t count on insurance reimbursement. For the sake of savings in simple cases, it is better to order an online consultation on the VideoDoc portal - it is much cheaper, and a video link is enough for an experienced doctor to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

Cost of consultation and appointment with a doctor in Cyprus

Insured patients do not pay anything for the appointment of a general practitioner and a pediatrician in municipal health centers - the cost of a doctor's consultation in Cyprus is reimbursed by insurance. For basic diagnostic procedures in municipal health centers, a minimum fee is charged - from 1 EUR for a blood test and from 10 EUR for an x-ray.

Consultations of narrow specialists on CHI are available for 6–10 EUR; in the private sector, the price of a doctor's appointment in Cyprus reaches 50 EUR and more. A simple filling costs from 70 EUR, treatment of deep caries and periodontitis - from 110-120 EUR, a day in the hospital - 150-200 EUR; extended heart examination - 300 EUR, childbirth without complications - 4-5 thousand EUR.

Medical prescriptions in Cyprus

CHI and VHI programs partially offset the cost of medicines and fully subsidize the purchase of life-saving drugs if you provide copies of prescriptions. To do this, you need to get a prescription for a medicine in Cyprus from a family doctor or specialist, in extreme cases - on a telemedicine service. Electronic prescriptions on the VideoDoc portal are issued by accredited consultants, so appointments are not in doubt: prescriptions in pharmacies in Cyprus are accepted without question, and insurance companies do not require additional justification for reimbursement.