Cost of Medicines
If you consult a medical practitioner who deems it necessary for you to take certain medication, they will prescribe particular drugs. You can then take the prescription to a pharmacy to purchase your medication.
The Spanish pharmaceutical system supplies patients with the drugs they need at low cost . As a general rule, all medications given out in a hospital or by the emergency services are free of charge: the costs for these are covered by the state. In contrast, general medicines prescribed by a doctor will require a patient contribution towards the cost. The value of this contribution will depend on the patient's personal circumstances.
If the medication was prescribed by a doctor working for the state social security system, you will usually pay around forty percent less than the total price of the drugs, that is, the price you would pay without a prescription. If the medication was prescribed by a private doctor, you will have to pay the total price of the medicine, unless you have a health insurance which covers the cost.
Certain groups of people are automatically exempt from contributing to the cost of their medicines, such as pensioners, and will receive any medicines they need free of charge, as long as these are prescribed by a doctor working for the state social security system. If patients require drugs to treat a chronic (ongoing) disease, their contribution is reduced to around ten percent of the total price.
Prescriptions are issued in one of three colours, which indicate the patient category to which you belong. Green prescriptions are issued to the general population, red to pensioners and blue to those patients who need treatment for a chronic illness. Prescriptions are valid for ten working days after their date of issue.
Private health insurance companies have their own policies regarding the cost of medicines; in some cases, certain drugs that would typically incur a charge are covered by the insurance policy. If you have private health insurance, you may have to pay a small fee (typically around three euros) for consultations, regardless of whether you need medicines or not. If you do not have private health insurance, but you wish to see a private doctor, you will have to pay the entire cost of the consultation as well as any treatments and/or medicines that you are prescribed.
