We are treated correctly, or What you need to know about medicine in the Czech Republic Medical insurance is one of the prerequisites for obtaining a student visa to stay in the Czech Republic. However, often at the design

We are treated correctly, or What you need to know about medicine in the Czech Republic

Medical insurance is one of the prerequisites for obtaining a student visa to stay in the Czech Republic. However, acquaintance with the local health care system often ends with the registration of an insurance card. Alexandra Baranova, author of the GoStudy blog, tells what else you need to be prepared for when you are a foreigner and your health is at stake.

Health care in the Czech Republic is, according to statistics, news about discoveries in this area and patient reviews, at a very high level. People turn to local doctors for a variety of problems, including complex chronic and congenital diseases that sometimes require surgical intervention. Special mention deserves the culture of treatment "on the waters" – local spas of mineral waters (Czech lázně), which attract tourists from all over the world.

The Czech Republic has a health insurance system for its citizens – in essence, it is not much different from insurance for foreigners, but it involves monthly payments, rather than a one-time payment for a certain period, and in total it can be even more expensive.

If you do not have serious health problems, then most likely your insurance card will remain in the folder with documents until the next visa extension. However, since no one is immune from the flu or food poisoning, it is worth bearing in mind some nuances in advance regarding how Czech medicine functions in practice.

A foreigner residing in the Czech Republic is required to have a comprehensive medical policy of a Czech insurance company. There are a number of insurance companies on the market that offer comprehensive insurance for foreigners, first of all, we can name: MAXIMA pojišťovna, a.s., Slavia pojišťovna, a.s., Pojišťovna VZP, a.s. The cost of an annual insurance policy for foreigners is about 400 euros.

Leaving old problems at home

Before moving to the Czech Republic, it is worth going through a complete medical examination at home and treating all untreated caries, sinusitis and sprains – this will allow you to be sure that your health will not let you down immediately upon arrival, and will save you from running around to doctors accompanied by an interpreter.

If you have any serious chronic diseases that can aggravate at any moment and endanger your life, then do not be stingy and give all the necessary documents for translation – a medical history, doctors' conclusions and the results of significant examinations, in order to be fully equipped .

A foreigner residing in the Czech Republic must always have a Czech health insurance policy with him.

We prepare sleigh in summer

After purchasing medical insurance, find, print and put on the prominent place a list of medical institutions that collaborate with your insurance company – this information can be found on its website. Browse the list and mark the clinic, hospitals and receptions of the therapists, hospitals to your place of residence – believe me that it will make it much more difficult for you to do it much more difficult to do it, and crawl to the doctor to the other end of the city – and worse.

You can also call a free service of the insurance company: an employee oriented you, which clinic you can contact in a specific situation in your policy.

Motol Hospital at the 2nd Medical Faculty of Karlov University in Prague

If the doctor, to whom you have turned, works with your insurance company, then there may be two options: he will immediately put an account for paying for the insurance company (in this case, you do not have to pay a penny in place), or you have to pay Treatment immediately and yourself, and then send a request for reimbursement of expenses in the insurance company. In the second case, besides the completed statement, you will need to attach the original conclusion of the doctor, recipes for discharged drugs, as well as the corresponding checks from the pharmacy, and send it all at the desired address. All documents must be in the original.

It is worth knowing that medical care in the Czech Republic is not cheap: a challenge of ambulance and a simple dropper in the hospital can do a few thousand crowns. For this reason, it makes sense to contact the clinic where they will take your insurance.

Ambulance, but in extreme cases

By the way, about the ambulance: in the Czech Republic, it is not customary to call a doctor at home at the first signs of illness, as in Russia. Therefore, even if you dumped with the fierce flu, you still have to dock to the doctor's adopted doctor, so that medicines are discharged and, if necessary, gave hospital.

If the situation is serious and pulls to call a doctor, you will have to call in ambulance. Be prepared for the fact that the doctors do not merge to you at the same second: the operator always finds out what is the actual condition of the patient. If it is not regarded as requiring immediate intervention of specialists, then in a challenge you may be denied.

Sorry, I had a temperature

In the Czech Republic, it is not customary to go to work or to study to the patient's sick, infecting others – with normal practice it is considered to apply to the doctor and serve the house for a week or two, if necessary. However, there are noises wherever – at work or school – without a certificate from a doctor may entail trouble.

Foreign students are important to realize that they are located in the country on the basis of training and are obliged to attend classes (in the case of language courses – the requirement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic is 80% of attendance).Justified omissions will be recognized only if a medical certificate is provided.

Therefore, if you feel that your health is starting to fail you, it is better to go to the doctor without delay. An important point: no one will write you a sick leave retroactively!

Your own doctor is better than someone else's

As in the case of any specialists who are designed to take care of your body and health, upon arrival in the Czech Republic, it is better to gradually find “your” doctors whom you will unconditionally trust (even if you have to pay for the services of some of them yourself, without relying on an insurance company ).

This is useful for two reasons. Firstly, when a doctor sees you regularly and thoroughly knows not only your medical history, but also your body's reactions to certain drugs, the likelihood that he will cure you, and not cripple you, is much greater. Secondly, a well-known patient can go somewhere and meet halfway – make a discount on the examination or write out a sick leave from the right day (see the previous paragraph).

The website www.znamylekar.cz can be helpful in finding the right doctor, where you can read patient reviews about doctors and make an appointment.

Aspirin please!

A 24-hour pharmacy in Russian realities is a familiar thing, but in Europe it is, on the contrary, a luxury – most pharmacies close around seven in the evening.

A sure option that is open 24 hours is a pharmacy on the hospital grounds, but the latter may not be nearby either, so it is better to ensure that pain medicines, antipyretics and activated charcoal in the home first aid kit are not transferred. In addition, it should be borne in mind that many drugs from those that are freely available in Russia can only be purchased in the Czech Republic with a prescription from the corresponding attending physician.

Marianske, Frantiskovy and other spas

Finally, since you are in the Czech Republic, do not underestimate the treatment on local waters, which was already mentioned earlier. Think about how to spend some weekend or vacation for the benefit of yourself, your loved one – having previously enlisted the recommendations of "your" attending physician. According to reviews, even a simple drinking course of treatment with appropriate mineral water can create a real miracle and significantly improve overall well-being.