As with the UK, front-line medical services are provided by a Médecin généraliste (General Practitioner) who you should find and register with when you arrive in France. When you’re looking for a GP the place to start is Doctolib, which is an on-line directory of all health providers in France, not just GPs. You can establish an on-line account with Doctolib and then use it to book, amend and cancel medical appointments with GPs and specialists to whom you’ve been referred.
GPs will refer you to more specialist providers if you need them. Each time you visit your GP you’ll give him or her your Carte Vitale, which is inserted into a card reader. The card holds basic administrative data – your name, sex, DoB, social security number and reimbursement information. But it also acts as a secure access card to your medical records – blood tests, scans & x-ray results, letters from specialist providers, examinations, operations, prescriptions and treatments. This information is available nationwide, so if you visited another doctor they would be able to see the same information about you.
The first time you visit your GP you will probably also be asked for your Mutuelle, which you should always carry with you.
If you need medication, a blood test or an x-ray, your GP will print out an Ordonnance (prescription) usually on a standard A4 sheet of paper and sign it. You then take it to the provider of the service you want.
Each visit to your GP is chargeable and you pay them in cash or with a bank card at the end of your visit. It is then reimbursed directly into your bank account – an amount from the state provider and part from your Mutuelle.
At the end of your visit you may request another appointment, particularly if you have a chronic condition that requires monitoring or, for example, you are pregnant. That appointment will be automatically shown in Doctolib if you’ve registered to use it.
