Czech Republic

In emergencies call 112 to obtain help.


Accessing care

You can obtain medically necessary treatment by presenting the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), when you are temporarily staying in the Czech Republic. Medically necessary treatment refers to treatment that cannot wait for your return home. You may need such treatment in case of acute illness or accident. You can also receive treatment related to pregnancy and childbirth or to a chronic illness. The need for treatment must emerge during the course of your stay. If your illness requires regular treatment while you are temporarily staying abroad, contact the health care provider abroad in advance and agree on arranging the treatment. Treatments that need to be arranged in advance include, for example, dialysis, oxygen therapy, specialised care of asthma and chemotherapy as well as echocardiography in chronic autoimmune diseases.

You will receive treatment on the same terms and at the same price as the locals by presenting your European Health Insurance Card. It is advisable to carry copies of your European Health Insurance Card with you, along with the card itself. If you didn’t have your EHIC with you or it was not accepted, and you were required to pay all the costs of treatment yourself, you might be able to apply for reimbursement from Kela retrospectively.

Before accessing care, you should make sure that the service provider has a contract with one of the public health insurance funds.

In the Czech Republic, patients must pay a customer fee as a deductible for the use of public healthcare services. The contact information for the funds is available on the website of the Health Insurance Bureau (Kancelář zdravotního pojištění, KZP).

Sudden illness

Doctor

Make an appointment with a general practitioner who has an agreement with the Czech health insurance system. Most general practitioners have such a contract. Contact information for the doctors is available at the local offices of the health insurance funds. Doctors’ practices are usually open on weekdays between 7:00 and 17:00. Show your valid European Health Insurance Card and your identity card at the practice. If you do not have these documents with you, be prepared to pay full price for your treatment in cash.

The doctor will issue a Czech certificate of entitlement to healthcare (Potvrzení o nároku) on the basis of your European Health Insurance Card. For the purposes of the certificate, the doctor will ask how long you intend to stay in the Czech Republic and will ask you to choose one of the health insurance funds. You can choose the fund freely and it will cover your medical costs in the Czech Republic. By signing the certificate prepared by the doctor, you confirm the duration of your stay, the selection of the fund and the fact that you have not travelled to the Czech Republic for the express purpose of receiving treatment. Outside of office hours, there may be an additional customer fee.

You can see a specialist after receiving a referral from a general practitioner. You can see a paediatrician or a gynaecologist without a referral. If the doctor orders further examinations, they should provide you with a corresponding number of copies of the Czech certificate of the right to healthcare. You must show this copy to the doctor who performs the additional examination.

Dentist

You can see a dentist (zubni lekar, stomatolog) without a referral. Visiting a dentist works the same as going to a general practitioner’s practice. There may be additional charges for urgent treatment and for treatments and materials that exceed the standard level (for example, teeth filler materials).

Medication

When a doctor prescribes you medicines, they will accompany the prescription with a copy of the Czech certificate of the right to healthcare. This certificate entitles you to a discount on medicines at the pharmacy. The reimbursement for different medicines varies.

Hospital treatment

A doctor’s referral is required for hospital treatment. In case of urgent illness, you can go straight to a hospital that has a contract with a Czech health insurance fund. At the hospital, you need to present your European Health Insurance Card and your identity card.

Ambulance transport is free when you present your European Health Insurance Card at the facility providing the treatment.

If you were required to pay in cash for your treatment, the health insurance fund cannot reimburse you for your costs during your stay in the Czech Republic. In this case, you can apply for reimbursement from Kela retrospectively.

If your illness requires you to use special transport when returning to Finland, you will be liable for the travel costs in their entirety. You are recommended to take out a travel insurance that covers these costs.

Read more about suddenly falling ill in Europe.

Read more about reimbursement of costs of treatment abroad.

Useful websites

If you want to travel to Czech Republic to use healthcare services there, you should read our website for general information about seeking treatment abroad. You should direct your questions about healthcare in the Czech Republic to the Czech National Contact Point.

The Czech Republic’s National Contact Point maintains a search service where you can find information on healthcare service providers who welcome foreign patients. The service providers have voluntarily registered themselves in the search service. You can search for a place of treatment according to location or medical specialisation.

Quality and safety of treatment

Healthcare service providers operating in the Czech Republic are required to fulfil specific criteria (training, quality of treatment and tools, standards of hygiene etc.) but the country does not have a compulsory quality assurance system or quality classification. If you are unhappy with the treatment you received in the Czech Republic, the instructions for complaints available from the national point of contact will provide assistance.

Healthcare system

The Czech Republic has a system of statutory health insurance based on compulsory membership in a health insurance fund. Joining the health insurance fund is mandatory and the health insurance funds must accept all applicants who, according to the constitution, are eligible to join the fund.

Eligible residents may freely choose their health insurance fund and health care providers. Pharmacies and diagnostic laboratories, as well as almost 90% of outpatient facilities, are in private hands.