Description
The Spanish Social Security Healthcare system provides the necessary medical and pharmaceutical services to maintain or re-establish an individual’s state of health. You need a Health Insurance Card in order to gain access to this service.
Conditions governing the issuance of Health Insurance Cards:
The Health Insurance Card is an individual and personalised document that accredits an individual’s right to receive public healthcare, along with the cardholder’s beneficiaries, regardless of their age. There are several possibilities:
- Citizens of European Union countries, the European Economic Area and Switzerland, who have residency in Spain, must use the Spanish Health Insurance Card.
- Citizens of European Union countries, the European Economic Area and Switzerland, who do not have residency in Spain, must use the European Health Insurance Card. This card is individual and certifies the holder’s right to receive any necessary healthcare from a medical point of view. This card is valid for four years and must be applied for in your country of origin.
What must I do in order to have the right to receive health care?
Any European citizens who reside in Spain have to go through previous procedures in their country of origin, or in the Spanish Social Security Provincial Headquarters, in order to obtain this document, which acknowledges your right to receive healthcare.
How can I apply for a Health Insurance Card?
You can apply for a Health Insurance Card at your health centre, by presenting the document that acknowledges your right to receive healthcare. The health centre will issue you and each of your beneficiaries with an individual Health Insurance Card and send it to your home address.
Healthcare Benefits
There are various different kinds of healthcare benefits available:
1. Primary Healthcare Service
Assistance in doctor’s surgeries, services and health centres, as well as in the patient’s home. Basic tests and diagnostics ordered and performed.
Health education activities: health exams, vaccinations and other programmed activities for the prevention of diseases, health promotion and rehabilitation.
Parenteral treatments, cures and minor surgery.
Women’s Healthcare: early care and monitoring of pregnancy; preparation for birth; visit during the first month after birth; early diagnoses of gynaecological and breast cancer; complications of the menopause.
Child Healthcare (under the age of 14): education and information for parents, guardians, educators and carers; vaccinations; check-ups.
Healthcare for Adults and the Elderly: vaccinations and detection of risk factors; education and care of chronically ill patients; healthcare problems of the elderly; home care for paralysed and terminally ill patients.
Emergency Healthcare: for people of any age, provided 24 hours a day, in the patient’s health centre or home.
Dental Care: education for dental hygiene and health; preventative measures for children (fluoridation, fillings and breakages); acute dental treatment, including extractions and preventative exploration for pregnant women.
Other services: catheters and nasogastric tubes fitted and replaced; referral of patients to specialised healthcare by the primary care doctor; basic rehabilitation treatments on the advice of the doctor...
2. Specialised Healthcare
Once the primary healthcare diagnostic and treatment possibilities are no longer sufficient, specialised healthcare and assistance will provided:
Walk-in centres specialising in medical consultations, including minor surgical procedures.
Walk-in centres in “day hospitals”, in cases that require continual medical and nursing care. Includes out-patient major surgery.
In-patient specialised healthcare, which includes medical, surgical, obstetrics and paediatric assistant for acute episodes, acute exacerbations of chronic illnesses or carrying out any necessary treatments or diagnostic procedures.
Mental and Psychiatric healthcare and assistance, which includes diagnosis and clinical monitoring, psychopharmacologic therapy, individual, group or family psychotherapy, and hospitalisation.
Emergency hospital care and services, provided 24 hours a day to non-hospitalised patients who require immediate hospital attention. It includes diagnosis, first aid and necessary treatment to deal with the emergency and assess the process.
Other services, diagnoses and treatment of infertility; prenatal diagnosis in risk groups; image diagnosis; family planning; radiology and radiotherapy; transplants.
Access to specialised care can be gained via: walk-in health centres, primary care doctor’s referral; care provided during hospitalisation; referral from the specialist doctor or emergency services, hospital services or referral from other specialised services.
Information
Provincial Social Security Headquarters
C/ Churruca, 26 - 03003 Alicante
Telf: 965 90 31 00
Open from 9:00am to 2:00pm.
Information Phoneline 900 16 65 65
www.seg-social.es |
