You can travel to another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom to use the local healthcare services. Travelling abroad for treatment is called seeking treatment.

When you go abroad for treatment, you may receive compensation from Kela for the costs of the treatment if the conditions for compensation are met.

But how to find a suitable treatment provider and facility? Using the tips from Mira Rantakeisu, expert at the Contact Point for Cross-Border Health Care, you can get started with planning your treatment abroad.

Where do I start when considering travelling for treatment?

Start planning your treatment journey by learning about healthcare services in different countries. You can find information about the healthcare services of many different countries on our website: Country-specific information about health services

Country-specific information helps you understand:

• how the country’s healthcare is organised,
• whether the granting and accessing of treatment involves particular requirements and
• how patient safety is monitored in the country.

Country-specific information is written from a traveller’s perspective, but you can use it to get a general overview of the country’s healthcare services.

How do I find a treatment provider abroad that meets my needs?

When looking for a reliable treatment provider and facility abroad, utilise of the cross-border healthcare contact point in your destination country. Each EU and EEA country has is a contact point for cross-border healthcare whose statutory task is to provide information about the country’s healthcare services.

You can contact the contact point for cross-border healthcare contact point of the destination country when you want to learn more about things such as:

• does the treatment provider you have chosen have the licence to provide the treatment,
• what patient safety requirements and supervision are in place in the country,
• what kind of patient injury procedures are followed in the country or
• whether there any possible restrictions in treatment due to, for example, congestion.

You can also look for a suitable place of treatment through the websites of different countries. In addition, you can also inquire from local patient organisations how a specific disease is treated in the destination country.

What do I need to confirm before booking a treatment trip?

Choosing a safe treatment provider and facility is one of the most important steps when planning to seek treatment abroad. Find out in advance from the treatment provider and facility or the country’s connection point:

• is the treatment provider licensed to operate as a healthcare service provider,
• does the treatment provider have insurance against treatment injury,
• what kind of treatment options does the treatment provider offer,
• what is the quality and safety of the treatment facility and
• In which language will you receive treatment.

You can also request more information from the treatment provider, such as the doctors’ rights of vocational practice and the registration details of the treatment unit.

Prepare for your trip with the help of our website and customer service.

On our website, you can easily find more information about travelling for treatment, applying for compensation, and the different stages of the treatment path.

• Explore the treatment path on our website.
• Information about reimbursement of treatment costs (frequently asked questions, for example).

You can also ask our customer service about travelling for treatment. We, the experts at the Contact Point for Cross-Border Health Care, can guide you to the right information.