Barcelona Mum

The Structure of the Public Health Service and Prescriptions

Centro de Asistencia Primaria (CAP) : (Doctor’s Surgery)
Also known as ambulatorio a health centre or dispensario dispensary. You will be assigned one according to your home address. This is where you will visit your general practitioner and paediatrician for your children. Remember that you just take your TSI when you have a visit. Your doctor will assess if you need to visit a specialist doctor or have any further tests done.

Centro de Atencion Continuada (CAC) : (Centre for follow-up attention)
This is a CAP with an emergency service at weekends and public holidays, either permanently or temporarily (from the 1st Dec to 31st March). The timetable varies, so you should ask in your CAP. They are located throughout the city and are easily accessible.

Hospitals
You should go to the hospital when referred by your doctor or in the case of an emergency or serious illness. The public health service will meet the costs of this treatment and of admission to hospital if necessary.

061
061 is the telephone service co-ordinating health care and emergency care. It manages the different emergency, rescue and safety services in the city. If you call, you will be asked key questions to assess the situation, and if necessary, in the case of a genuinely serious illness or accident you will be sent the appropriate service. It is very important to state clearly the address and telephone number from where you are calling.

Medication
Doctors will issue an official prescription with your details or those of the beneficiaries in your care. The social security will cover a large part of the cost of the medicine and you will only have to pay a part. It is necessary to present your TSI card to buy the medicine in a pharmacy.

Official Prescriptions
They may be red or green. Those that are red are for pensioners and medication is free. All the others are green and you must pay for part of the cost of the medicine. Hospitals will give you a form making suggestions about medication, but they are not prescriptions so you must go to your CAP or CAC to get the real prescription. If you need the medication immediately you will have to pay 100% of the cost. When you have the official prescription, go back to the pharmacy where you bought the medication with its packaging and they will refund you the appropriate amount of the cost. If you cannot afford to pay, ask at your health centre or contact the social network of NGOs (non governmental organisations).