Travelling in Europe - Meds & Prescriptions

SugarBuzz

Well-Known Member
Messages
111
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
**** doctors. Airport travel.
Hey.

I'm about to travel for a couple of months in Europe. One thing that concerns me is being able to get a prescription for Insulin and test strips that I can use in Europe. I know that buying stuff without a prescription is VERY expensive. Just to give you and idea - in Spain a few cartridges of Insulin with a prescription from the local Spanish doctor was around 7 euros - without it it was above 70 euros (so 10 times the price).

It's not really feasible to take 2 month meds with me as I'll be backpacking - so the insulin is gonna get pretty hot at some stage, not to mention that the basul bolus regime isn't very good for travelling as you end up with loads of bulky pens (not like the good old days of mixed insulin where you just had 1 pen and the smaller cartridges to fit in the pen).

Anyway, what I need to know - preferably from people that have done this kind of thing is what my best option could be. I have a European health insurance card (EHIC). But not sure if I could just turn up at a doctors in a European country and immediately register as a temporary patient without an address to get a prescription, or if there is some kind of Euro prescription that I could get here in the UK and then use it out there when needed.

Any help appreciated. Thanks.
 

phoenix

Expert
Messages
5,671
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
It varies by country.
Here in France you can use your EHIC but it is used to reclaim the costs. ie if you go to a GP (and you can just make an appointment to see any GP) you have to pay 23€ up front, similarly if you don't have a French card you have to pay the full cost of the prescription . You will need to provide the treatment form (feuille de soins) with stickers from the medicine packaging, copies of receipts and prescriptions, a copy of your EHIC, your address of residence and your bank details, including IBAN and BIC then to the CPAM They will refund by direct payment to your bank (our CPAM is very quick to do this but we are members of the French system and we use a French bank)
For most things the refund is only at 70% leaving you with a co-pay of 30% (don't know how this works for insulin, I get a100% but I am registered here as having diabetes )

How to access healthcare in other EU countries here:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/countryguide/Pages/EEAcountries.aspx
And just noticed, an important change in the regulations.
Since the start of this month co pays are no longer refunded ( you used to be able to claim them back from the NHS). So it's also really important that you have additional travel insurance for unexpected medical expenses. (30% can be a lot of money on expensive treatment)
 

SugarBuzz

Well-Known Member
Messages
111
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
**** doctors. Airport travel.
Thanks for that. Though it's still a bit sketchy, even after reading all the info on the link.

I've never claimed anything back from my EHIC. I've always just gone to a doctor I've been registered with temporarily in the country and got a prescription and then paid for it at the much reduced rate. In England when I move around, I could just go to a new medical facility and register as a temporary patient. I was hoping it would be similar in some other Euro countries..........