Moving to Romania, or staying for a few weeks, quickly raises practical questions. How do you find a doctor? Can the consultation be in English or French? Is a prescription from another EU country accepted? How does the European Health Insurance Card work? And what should you do if you become ill far from your usual doctor?
Whether you are an expat, an Erasmus student, a foreign worker, a digital nomad or simply passing through Romania, here is what helps you get care more easily.
How does the health system work in Romania?
Romania has a public health system alongside a large network of private clinics and practices.
In the public system, health insurance is managed mainly by the Casa Națională de Asigurări de Sănătate (CNAS). Insured people can use different medical services depending on their situation and the rules that apply.
The family doctor (medic de familie) has a central place for people who are registered in the Romanian system. The family doctor provides first-line care, follows chronic conditions and, when needed, refers patients to certain specialists.
If you are only staying for a short time and using a European Health Insurance Card, you are not automatically registered with a family doctor. During a temporary stay, care usually goes through a provider that works with the public insurance fund, an emergency service, or a private clinic.
Alongside the public system, many patients use the private sector, especially when they want an appointment sooner or a consultation in a particular language.
For an expat who has just arrived, knowing the difference between these two routes prevents a lot of confusion.
Can a foreigner see a doctor in Romania?
Yes.
You do not need to be a Romanian citizen to see a doctor in Romania.
How the visit is covered, and what it costs, depends on your situation: residence in Romania, enrolment in Romanian health insurance, private insurance, a European Health Insurance Card, or a simple tourist stay.
Private consultations are also open to people who are not enrolled in the Romanian public system.
How do you find a doctor who speaks your language?
Language is one of the main difficulties expats face when they need care.
Many clinicians speak English, especially in large cities such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara and Iași. A consultation conducted entirely in French can be harder to find.
In a medical consultation, you need to describe your symptoms, your medical history, your allergies and the medicines you already take. Being able to do that clearly matters.
Where can you find care in English or French in Bucharest?
Bucharest has many private clinics and medical services for international patients.
When the medical situation is suitable, some consultations can also be done remotely.
Iasso Health offers online medical consultations in English and French for expats, travellers and foreign residents in Romania.
A video consultation can be used for a first medical assessment, advice, follow-up, or a referral to an in-person visit when that is needed.
Can you see a doctor online in Romania?
A video consultation can suit some situations that do not immediately need a physical examination.
It can be useful to discuss recent symptoms, continue some follow-up, review a treatment you already know, or decide whether you need an in-person visit, tests, or urgent care.
A video consultation does not systematically replace an in-person examination.
Depending on your symptoms, the doctor may recommend a clinical examination, blood tests, imaging, a specialist visit, or emergency care.
How do you get a prescription in Romania?
In Romania, many medicines require a prescription.
When a prescription medicine is needed, the doctor must first assess your situation and decide whether the treatment is appropriate.
A consultation never automatically guarantees a prescription.
At Iasso Health, a prescription may be issued after a medical assessment, and only when it is medically appropriate. Narcotics, psychotropic medicines and certain closely monitored treatments are not prescribed during a video consultation.
This distinction matters for foreign patients who have forgotten their medicines, or whose usual treatment is running out during their stay.
If you already have a prescription from another country, bring it to a consultation. The doctor reviews it during that visit. This is not an automatic translation or conversion, and it does not by itself create a Romanian prescription.
I forgot my treatment, or it ran out, while I am in Romania. What should I do?
This is fairly common for travellers and expats.
If you take a regular treatment, keep if you can:
- the name of the medicine and its dose;
- an old prescription;
- a photo of the box;
- a medical report or a letter from your doctor;
- the list of your other treatments and allergies.
A doctor can then understand your situation more easily.
A treatment prescribed in your home country cannot necessarily be renewed automatically in Romania.
The medicine may have a different brand name, may not be available in the same dose, or may follow different prescribing rules.
A new medical assessment may therefore be needed.
Is a prescription from another EU country valid in Romania?
In principle, a prescription written in one European Union country can be recognised in another EU country, subject to the rules that apply to that medicine and to how it is dispensed.
To make it easier to use abroad, the prescription should include enough information about the patient, the prescriber, the medicine, its dose and how to take it. Asking your usual doctor to write the international nonproprietary name (the name of the molecule), not only the brand used at home, makes the prescription easier to read in a Romanian pharmacy.
A medicine available at home may have a different name in Romania or may not be sold in the same way.
Some categories of medicines follow special rules. Narcotic and psychotropic medicines are often not dispensed on a foreign prescription.
A pharmacy can also refuse a prescription if it looks incomplete, if its authenticity is in doubt, or if the product is not marketed in Romania.
If the pharmacy cannot dispense it, a consultation with a doctor in Romania can review the situation and, when it is medically justified, provide a prescription that fits the local rules.
Can you get a prescription after a video consultation?
It depends on the medical situation and on the medicine.
The consultation has to be a real medical assessment. Symptoms, past history, current treatments, allergies, contraindications and other relevant information have to be taken into account.
If the doctor decides that a physical examination or further tests are needed before any prescription, you may be asked to come in person.
The aim of a video consultation is appropriate medical care. It is not simply a way to collect a prescription.
How do you use the European Health Insurance Card in Romania?
If you are insured in a European Union country, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) can make it easier to get medically necessary care during a temporary stay in Romania.
It gives access to that care in the system that participates in Romanian public insurance, under the local conditions. You may still have to pay the same patient contribution as a person insured in Romania. Bring the card, or the provisional replacement certificate, and your passport.
The EHIC is not travel insurance. It does not automatically cover consultations with private providers that do not take part in the public system.
To use the EHIC with a doctor in Romania, check that the professional or the facility works with the health insurance fund.
If you are settling in Romania, the EHIC is no longer the right long-term route. Some people who remain insured in another EU country are covered through an S1 form. If you are not sure which route applies to you, check with CNAS or with your employer.
Private doctor or public system in Romania?
The two systems exist side by side.
The public system is particularly relevant for people enrolled in Romanian health insurance, or covered by the European arrangements during a temporary stay.
The private sector may be chosen for several reasons: appointment availability, personal preference, the language of the consultation, or simpler access.
Check the reimbursement rules with your insurer before the visit.
A private consultation is not automatically covered by the European Health Insurance Card.
What if I do not have health insurance in Romania?
Not being enrolled with CNAS does not mean you cannot see a doctor.
You can see a doctor in the private sector and pay for the consultation yourself.
If you have travel insurance or international health insurance, keep the invoices and medical documents. Depending on your contract, you will need them to claim a refund.
If you are moving to Romania for the longer term, it is also useful to check your situation with CNAS or with your employer so you know your rights.
What should I do in a medical emergency in Romania?
In a serious medical emergency, the emergency number in Romania is 112.
Use it when someone has a potentially serious problem that needs urgent care.
Severe chest pain, serious difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, signs of a stroke, or a severe allergic reaction are examples of situations that should not wait for a video consultation.
If you are unsure and the symptoms are severe or getting worse quickly, an urgent medical assessment is the safer choice.
Medical certificates and fit-to-fly certificates in Romania
Travellers sometimes need a medical certificate, for example after an illness or before a flight.
A medical certificate is not a simple administrative document.
The doctor first has to assess the situation and decide whether there is enough information to issue the document you asked for.
At Iasso Health, a medical certificate starts with a medical consultation. The certificate is issued only when the assessment allows it and it is clinically appropriate.
A fit-to-fly certificate is more specific. Many airlines have their own form, and an in-person examination is often required. It is issued only when the medical assessment supports it.
Getting medical care in Romania as an Erasmus student
Romania welcomes many international students each year.
For a European student on a temporary stay, the European Health Insurance Card can be particularly useful for medically necessary care in facilities that take part in the public system.
It is still useful to identify in advance:
- the medical centre or doctor to contact if there is a problem;
- the nearest pharmacy;
- how your insurance works;
- the emergency number 112.
For non-urgent problems, a video consultation can also be a practical option when it fits the situation.
Getting medical care in Romania as a tourist
A stomach upset, a respiratory infection, toothache, an allergic reaction or a forgotten treatment can quickly complicate a stay abroad.
Before you travel, bring enough of your usual medicines and, for important treatments, a copy of your prescription or another relevant medical document.
If a problem comes up during your stay, the choice between a pharmacy, a video consultation, an in-person visit or the emergency services depends on your symptoms and how serious they are.
A medical consultation in your language in Romania
Living or travelling in another country should not stop you from explaining a health problem clearly.
The consultation is used to assess your situation, advise you and, when needed, direct you towards further tests, a specialist or an in-person visit.
When a prescription or a medical certificate is medically appropriate, it can be prepared after that assessment.
Need to see a doctor in Romania?
You can book an online medical consultation with Iasso Health.
Consultations are remote, so patients in Bucharest or elsewhere in Romania can be seen without travelling when their situation is suitable for a video consultation.
Book an online consultation with Iasso Health
This article gives general information and does not replace a medical consultation. In a medical emergency in Romania, call 112.