Travel Insurance

There are two phone numbers you can call in case of an emergency: the general emergency number 112, which connects you to the emergency services (the operator immediately gets access to the callers phone number and can see their location on the map, with English-speaking specialists available); and 118, which is for emergency medical services, usually in Italian, and the call will be forwarded to the nearest ambulance station. Typically, specially trained volunteers respond to emergency calls, whose task is to quickly transport the injured person to the hospital for emergency treatment. Its important to understand that calling an ambulance in Italy is practiced only in cases of extreme necessity; otherwise, its better to make your own way to the hospital. If the hospitals emergency department considers your case non-urgent, your wait to see a doctor on duty can last for several hours, and ultimately, you may receive a bill for the visit and ambulance call.

Italy has a national healthcare system (SSN). Registration in this system provides access to public healthcare. Foreigners with EHIC (European Health Insurance Card issued to EU residents) can register in the SSN using this card for up to three months. Separate registration in this system is required for foreign students and individuals with residency permits in Italy. When registering with the SSN, a tessera sanitaria card (equivalent to a medical insurance policy) is issued. All of this allows access to emergency care, appointments with family doctors, treatment in public hospitals, assistance in emergency rooms, and obtaining free or discounted medications, etc. If a family doctor provides a referral (ticket) to a specialist or if diagnostic tests are needed, the healthcare system provides for citizens "co-payment" for such medical expenses. The co-payment for a specialist appointment with a referral is small, but it can increase up to five times without a referral. Referrals are issued free of charge for certain categories of the population.
The problems of the Italian public healthcare sector are similar to those in other countries: queues to see doctors, long waits for specialist appointments, a shortage of qualified personnel, and uneven distribution of quality medical centers across regions.

Italy also has a private healthcare sector. Italians themselves, either directly or through insurance systems, pay for the quality of medical services, the speed of access to specialists, or the opportunity for additional examinations in private institutions. Some private clinics may accept referrals from the public healthcare system, where medical services for the patient will be not free but cheaper than if accessed independently. Dental services in Italy are always paid, even with public insurance. Dentists are available in public institutions, and you can access them with a referral from a therapist and pay less, but the local population prefers private dental clinics.

Pharmacies in Italy are marked with the word "Farmacia" and a sign with a green cross. They usually operate during daytime on weekdays and Saturdays. Outside of these hours, you can purchase medications at a duty pharmacy (farmacia del turno). A pharmacist may not be present there 24/7, but they will come to the pharmacy upon call to sell the necessary medication. At a duty pharmacy during off-hours, you may be charged an official service fee - 7-10 euros, or they may refuse to sell/dispense medication if they consider your problem non-urgent. Pharmacists at duty pharmacies are also helpful in directing you to where the on-call therapist (Guardia Medica) is available if your health problem is urgent but can wait without an ambulance. If you consulted a doctor using our insurance policy and its a covered case, you may receive compensation for prescribed and purchased medications.