Medical services
Doctors and hospitals in France
If your are subscribed to the French social security you are free to choose your health professional you wish (generalist or specialist doctor, dentist, hospital centres, private clinics, etc.).
If you have a private international insurance, check where you can go to get treatment. There might be specific private establishments where your insurer will only cover your treatment.
How to choose
Most doctors and hospitals have an agreement with the Social security (conventionné), which means that the fees are charged at standard rates. Check whether the health professional or organization is conventionné before or at your first visit (private clincs will probably not be in this group), otherwise the refunds from social security will be lower than normal. In this case, even additional private insurance (mutuelle) may not cover them completely.
A good source of doctors and medical centres is the yellow pages directory: www.pagesjaunes.fr (both in French and English).
Apointments
All appointments are made by phone. For a generalist, it should be usually made 1-3 days in advance, for a specialist up to1-2 weeks. For special treatment in public hospitals the waiting time can be much longer, even a few months.
For up-to-date news regarding medical care in France, visit our website on expatriate healthcare: http://www.expathealth.org .
Also in this section
- Introduction: The health care system in France
- Medical costs: How to pay and claim reimbursements
- Special health coverage: Health insurance for people in difficulties
- Emergencies: Where to go in cases of emergency
- Medical services: Doctors and hospitals in France
- Pharmacies: Advice and medicines
- Glossary: French expressions and abreviations in health care
