9. Receiving Health Care in France

1. 9.1. General Practitioners
   9.2. Consultants
   9.3. Prescriptions
   9.4. Emergency Treatment
   9.5. Hospital Treatment
   9.6. Maternity Care

9.2. Medical Consultants in France

If you need to see a consultant then your doctor will provide you with a letter of referral. Indeed, you are likely to find that French GPs do not hesitate to refer you on for a more specialist assessment if your circumstances are more than routine.

Your doctor may recommend a suitable consultant, but you are not obliged to accept their recommendation. If you have someone else you would rather see then the choice is yours.

Some consultants may be working in their own cabinet, others in a private clinic and still others in a public hospital. This does not necessarily affect the amount you will have to pay, as there is no distinction betweeen the private and public health sectors in the same way as occurs in the UK. That part of the health system that is truly 'private' (non-conventionée) is very small.

You are normally expected to make your own appointment with the consultant but, if you need assistance, then your doctor may well make the appointment for you.

The consultant will advise you of the results of your examination, which will also be communicated to your doctor. Depending on the results you may need or wish to make a further appointment with your doctor to discuss them.

In short, they cannot be easily summarised and we can only illustrate the general framework here. Nevertheless, provided you are referred by your family doctor and you hold a decent voluntary/complementary health insurance policy you should be pretty well covered.

As usual, you will normally receive reimbursement of the costs through the social security system at 70% of the official rate, less the €1 surcharge, with the balance being picked up by your voluntary insurance policy.

However, an increasing number of consultants are charging non-standard fees (depassements), which are not recoverable through the social security system and may not be recovered through your 'top-up' insurance policy. It will depend on the terms of your policy.

There are two circumstances when you are entitled to see directly certain consultants without having to pass through your doctor, and without financial penalty.

If you need to see a gynaecologist or ophthalmologist you can go direct. Likewise those under 26 years of age are allowed to see a psychiatrist, without the need to first go through their doctor.

Similarly, where you need to see a specialist as a matter of urgency then you may go direct without financial penalty. Such circumstances might occur, for instance, where you are away from home and you are taken seriously ill.

Psychiatrists, neurologists and cardiologists are also permitted to charge a higher rate than other consultants, which is reimbursable on the usual terms through the social security system.