Medical care

Health / Medical care in the Czech Republic is high-quality, affordable and professional, in some areas and fields rated one of the best in Europe and sometimes cutting-edge worldwide.

Your health insurance company is obliged to tell you who are their contracted doctors and medical facilities near your place of residence, but it would be very unlikely to know their language capacities. You may also ask around your colleagues or friends or contact the Brno Expat Centre for a contact list of doctors (also can be found in the Centre’s free to download Info sheets).

In case you intend to stay in the Czech Republic for a longer period, it is important to find a reliable doctor (general practitioner, also known as praktický lékař in Czech) as soon as possible and register with him/her. The doctor than becomes your “family doctor”, keeps your file (as well as your family members’ files if wanted and registered), does preventive checkups and when necessary, refers you to a specialist (at a clinic or hospital) for further examination or treatment. Hospital treatment is usually fully covered by your public health insurance. The same goes for a dentist, gynecologist or pediatrician. You can always visit the nearest doctor when you are sick, and they have to accept any patient in need under the Hippocratic Oath. Out of office hours, you can always go to the Emergency Hospital (Úrazová nemocnice) at Ponávka 6 or to the Children’s Hospital at Černopolní 9. Emergency service is also available in FNUSA (Saint Anne’s University Hospital) from the 1st to the 15th of every month, the rest of the month this service is provided in Bohunice hospital at Jihlavská 20. There are 24-hour non-stop pharmacies at Koliště 47 (around the corner from the Emergency Hospital) and opposite the Main Train Station at Bašty 2.

If you are in need of emergency treatment and cannot safely and quickly get to a doctor or hospital by yourself, you should call an ambulance (in Czech: záchranná služba) to provide you with first aid and take you to the nearest hospital. Call 112 or 155. There might be a standard charge for visiting the emergency service afterwards, of 90 Kč.