Surgery & Home Consultations
In order to arrange a medical consultation at a doctor's surgery, you can go in person to the surgery during their opening hours, or phone and make an appointment.
GPs are required to open their surgery up to five days a week, depending on the exact number of their patients, in order to guarantee effective and efficient assistance for each patient. You can find the exact opening hours of your local surgery on your local Health Authority website; they are also available from the surgery itself. Outside opening hours, medical assistance is available from the on-call medical service.
To request a home visit, which is typically available only when your health conditions prevent you from leaving your home, you should contact your doctor's surgery. The following rules apply:
if a patient requests a home visit before 10am, even on a Saturday or national holiday, the visit will be made on the same day
if the patient requests a home visit after 10am, the visit will be made before noon of the following day
if the patient requests an urgent home visit, this will be made immediately.
In order to book an appointment with a specialist, or at a specialised medical centre, for example for an x-ray, you have to contact the Single Centre for Health Services Booking (Centro Unico di Prenotazioni: CUP). Every CUP is responsible for managing appointments for medical services in a particular area. To make an appointment you will need to call a free telephone number, details of which should be available from your doctor or the local hospital. On the telephone you will need to give your name and any other personal data requested, and explain what kind of appointment you need. When you attend your appointment, you will be required to show your GP's letter of referral.
However, if you go to the Centre for Health Services Booking in person, you will need to show your Medical Card and the letter of referral before the appointment can be made.
You are required to pay any necessary charges for the treatment when you attend the appointment, unless you belong to one of the protected groups who do not need to pay. These protected groups include:
disabled people
people with chronic or rare diseases
people with a low-income
People who belong to a protected group do not have to pay for examinations, specialist appointments or any other health assistance they get; in the case of people with a chronic or rare disease, this protection may be limited to treatments connected with this same disease.
