Healthcare in France
Healthcare in France⋆ The charge for an appointment with a doctor
Almost every resident of Europe knows that medicine in France is the most expensive and the best in the European Union. This is because the health care system in France is sponsored by a tax (19% of all officially employed persons, as well as a tax imposed on tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical companies).
Today, French medicine is inferior to American and Japanese medicine, but among European countries, it is indicative. After all, it is not for nothing that patients from other EU countries come to France for diagnosis and surgical interventions. Areas such as oncology, plastic surgery, neurosurgery and cardiology are considered particularly developed. If you follow the statistics, you can see that the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases in France is minimal.
Healthcare in France
Healthcare in France is public and private. A general practitioner is the first doctor to visit. You can choose a spacialist to be your family doctor. Only a general practitioner refers to a narrow expert and signs a prescription for drugs. An insurance company reimburses 50-65% of the expenses at the visit to a narrow expert with a referral from a GP, while the non-referral visit mostly is not insurance-covered.
Healthcare in France is standardized. A general practitioner conducts tests and examinations. The appointment is booked via the account on the online platform. The online consultations are gaining popularity in France.
Ambulance in France
In case if a patient needs an emergency medical care, there are several ways to call an ambulance in France:
- 112 (Europe-wide);
- an SMS at 114 (for deaf and dumb people);
- SAMU at 15 (for emergencies, like a stroke);
- 17 or 18 (these are the police and fire services, which can also provide first aid).
Ambulance in France is covered depending on the insurance package. In case if a patient does not have insurance, an emergency service will charge 120-160 €.
How to book an appointment with a doctor in France?
Doctors in France work in public or private hospitals while providing the appointments online. Therefore, prior to booking an appointment, select a doctor and enter into an agreement with him. You can find a doctor on the website https://www.ameli.fr/, check the reviews of his patients in terms of his expertise. The website https://www.fncs.org/ provide options for hospital locations.
You can book an appointment with a doctor in France at the hospital reception, yet currently all countries promote automation, so bookings with doctors in France are accepted on the websites www.doctolib.fr, https://allodocteur.fr/, https: / /www.maiia.com/. It is important to have appropriate insurance that will cover most of the treatment.
At the end of the appointment the doctor gives you to sign feuille de soins. The form confirms the treatment and allow the purchase of medicines at the pharmacy.
Waiting time for a consultation with a doctor in France
As already mentioned, the process of making an appointment with a doctor and the consultation have such a frame:
- insurance and Carte Vitale (medical insurance card);
- contract with a doctor;
- consultation;
- referral to a narrow expert (if needed).
Each stage implies expenses. Therefore, if you are not ready to go to a doctor in France, use the services of the online platform VideoDoc. Specialists in more than 20 medical fields will provide quality medical assistance to you and your family, no matter which European country you are in!
The charge for a consultation with a doctor in France
In France, as in any other European country, insurance is mandatory. It covers part of the expenses on the treatment. Usually, the basic insurance covers 75% of the patient's medical expenses (the money transfer to the card). It makes healthcare in France affordable.
The disabled, diabetics, asthmatics, epileptics, people with cancer, and pregnant women have insurance, which covers all expenses for treatment.
If a patient does not have an insurance, the charge for a consultation with a doctor and other medical assistance in France are high:
- doctor's consultation in France costs €30-60;
- narrow expert charges €70-140;
- injection costs 4-10 € (not including medicinal product);
- filling costs €600-1000;
- examination at a gastroenterologist costs up to €1,000.
Are you in France and do not have an insurance policy? Can you afford the charge for a doctor's appointment in France? It is not a problem, because today you can contact medical practitioners from Ukraine and Belarus licensed to practice medicine in the EU. Their consultations are available via chat, phone and video calls. An appointment with a VideoDoc doctor cost only €10.
Prescription medicine in France
Prescriptions in pharmacies in France are mandatory for drug purchase. You can get a prescription for medicine in France only from your doctor (general practitioner) or from a doctor on the VideoDoc online platform. The dosage and treatment period are specified in the prescription. However, in addition to it you would need insurance to buy medicine at a pharmacy.
Reimbursement for drugs is provided by the insurance. The amount depends on the category of the drug.
