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Health system in Italy
Hospitals have a really good reputation in Italy due to the number of well-trained doctors so Italy is in fact a country where one can expect to find good medical assistance and low-cost health care. However, state hospitals are very patchy in the south of Italy; it’s a good idea to have private health insurance, which covers the costs of medical services. The national health system in Italy is managed by local health authorities. If you are European, the health authorities will provide low or non-cost medical service. Some services like emergency health provision are available for tourist.
Many tourists, foreigners and Italians prefer to take out private health services over state health services, but if one decides to have a private insurance, one should know it’s very expensive. However, patients whose lives are at risk can use the private health system; the costs will be charged to the state health service.
Pharmacies
If you need to buy prescription drugs or medicines, there are many pharmacies around Italy. Most pharmacies are opened in regular hours; however, there are pharmacies that open late for emergency dispensing of medicines. You need a prescription in order to buy drugs, because pharmacies need these prescriptions to justify why they give a special drug to someone. If you need to locate a pharmacy, most of the pharmacies have the sign of a green or red cross on a white background.
Doctors and hospitals
If you need any medical service you can go to a hospital, there are two health systems: private system and state system in Italy, the first is quite expensive but it is the best; the second is cheap but it is patchy. Doctors are well-trained, you can rely on them. Italy is well-known for standard services of medical assistance; however there are hospitals where medical assistance is not as good as you imagine. Healthcare in Italy is the second worldwide after France.
If one has a medical emergency, one can call 118, which is the number for it. If you need a dentist, there are many particular dentists around Italy, most of them attend emergencies, but this kind of service is expensive. It’s recommendable to have a list of the main hospitals and its telephones numbers, because no one is free from an accident. You also have to check if the doctor you go to, belongs to the public service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale or SSN), if you don’t want to pay extra costs.
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