Medicine in Malta
Malta is one of the first places in the quality of medical care in Europe, although the cost of treatment is 30-50% lower than in other EU countries. The longevity of the Maltese is partly due to the favorable climate and a healthy Mediterranean diet, but the doctors are to be thanked for the low incidence of disease. Public and effective medicine in Malta successfully copes with the control and prevention of serious diseases: every second inhabitant of the country does not face serious health problems throughout his life.
Health system in Malta
Health care in Malta is organized on a solidarity principle - the main costs for the treatment and prevention of diseases are covered by the compulsory health insurance fund. State medical insurance is available to citizens of Malta and officially employed migrants with permanent residence; citizens of the EU and the Eurozone in municipal medical institutions are served by the EHIC card. The MHI policy entitles you to free medical care in Malta in municipal and private clinics within the quotas:
- reception of the family doctor and pediatrician;
- basic analyzes and hardware diagnostics;
- support of pregnancy and childbirth;
- hospital treatment and surgery;
- professional examinations and vaccinations according to the calendar;
- care for the elderly and disabled;
- basic dental treatment;
- services of an ophthalmologist and audiologist;
- purchase of glasses and a hearing aid;
- psychological and psychiatric help.
In addition to primary care services, the health insurance system in Malta subsidizes some types of specialized care, such as treatment at a diabetes center or rehabilitation services. Family doctors in Malta in municipal medical institutions are not assigned to patients - outpatient appointments are conducted by an on-call therapist or pediatrician.
In a private clinic, you can choose your own general practitioner, but in this case, voluntary health insurance with extended coverage is required. In large companies, management pays for voluntary medical insurance policies for their employees and makes contacts for servicing personnel in private clinics; for a fee, family members are included in the insurance.
Foreign citizens with temporary visas can count on medical care in Malta under commercial insurance coverage. Basic packages pay only for one-time visits to doctors, premium packages can include premium dental services, treatment of chronic diseases and oncological diseases, pregnancy management, etc.
Ambulance in Malta
Emergency Medical Service Phone - 196; but keep in mind that the ambulance in Malta only accepts calls in the most severe cases with a high risk to the life of the patient. Emergency medical care is provided free of charge even without insurance; hospital treatment fees are calculated after stabilization of the condition and are covered by insurance if the call was justified.
With high blood pressure, fever, exacerbations of chronic diseases and other non-life-threatening complaints, family doctors take out of turn; after 8 pm, it is possible to visit a doctor at home to patients with limited mobility. If the patient is able to move, you will have to go to the hospital on your own; emergency care in Malta is provided by the Mater Dei Clinic in Msida, and in Gozo by the General Hospital in Victoria.
How to make an appointment with a doctor in Malta
If you have a CHI or VHI policy, making an appointment with a doctor in Malta is easy - call your clinic or send an e-mail. In the private sector, an online appointment with a doctor in Malta is available through instant messengers, a chatbot and a feedback form on the website. Before you sign up for a consultation with a doctor in Malta under a commercial policy, make sure that the clinic has an agreement with your insurance company. To pay for the services of a specialist, laboratory and hardware diagnostics under state insurance, you need to take a referral from a family doctor.
Waiting time for a doctor's appointment/consultation in Malta
There are usually no long queues to see family doctors; a consultation with a doctor in Malta is provided within a week after the application is submitted. You have to wait several weeks to see a specialist, and the waiting period for planned operations is delayed for a year and a half. In order to save time, affluent patients go to private clinics, while thrifty patients look to telemedicine services. In standard cases, a video call is enough to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment; at the same time, an online consultation on the VideoDoc portal costs much less than the services of a private doctor.
The cost of a consultation and appointment with a doctor in Malta
Without insurance, medical care is expensive - the price of a doctor's appointment in Malta reaches 10-EUR for a therapist and 50-100 EUR for a specialist; a blood test costs about 20 EUR. If you have commercial insurance, the cost of consulting a doctor in Malta is payable locally; to receive insurance payments, send the operator a check or invoice with justification. Natural childbirth in Malta costs 5000 EUR; inpatient treatment – 200–400 EUR per day; hardware examinations (ultrasound - 50–200 EUR, MRI - from 150 EUR) CHI pays partially; The size of the franchise depends on the income.
Medical prescriptions in Malta
In Malta, almost all medicines are available by prescription; if you do not want to wait for an appointment with a family doctor, prescriptions in pharmacies in Malta will be written by staff physicians. The services of pharmacy consultants are quite legal; the average cost of the service is from 10 EUR, but you can’t count on attentiveness and an individual approach.
If you need to get a prescription for a medicine in Malta without visiting a clinic, order an online consultation on the VideoDoc portal. Our consultants approach prescriptions responsibly and do not prescribe unnecessary medicines, and insurance companies reimburse the cost of medicines under compulsory medical insurance and voluntary medical insurance programs without any problems.
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