Health services in Norway

In Norway, public health services are generally considered to be well organized with professional standards. Although there are private medical insurance very few Norwegians have this as it is not considered as necessary.

The public health services are divided into two sectors:

• Primary health care deals with general health issues and is provided locally by general practitioners (GP) and community nurses.
• Specialised health care provides health services by specialists and hospitals.

Appointment with a specialist is normally done through your GP, and your GP can refer you to a specialist to has an agreement (a contract specialist) that reduces the cost for you. If you book an appointment with a specialist without this agreement it will be more expensive. This applies to everything from psychiatrist to gynecologist.

Read more about the Norwegian health care system (legemiddelverket.no).

How to know if you have a GP

If your stay in Norway exceeds six months (and thus requires that you report moving to Norway (skatteetaten.no) you will automatically be assigned a GP ("fastlege") by your local social security office (nav.no).

However, this usually takes some time. To speed up the process, you may contact the Fastlege Office at 800 43 573 once you have received your Norwegian national identity number (skatteetaten.no) and register in the regular general practitioner scheme (fastlegeordning).

If you are not sure if you have a GP you can call Helse Norge at +47 23 32 70 00 to ask if you have been assigned a GP and what their contact information is.

If you do not have a GP or national ID number you can contact Strandsiden Legesenter AS. They have same-day appointment available for UiB employees and their family. You can also book an appointment with private doctors, though they are more expensive.

How to book an appointment with your GP

If you have access to HelseNorge, most GPs will allow you to book an appointment here. Otherwise, you may call your doctor's office, though you should expect some waiting time. You should also expect waiting time for available appointments, it can be up to 3-4 weeks.

If you have an urgent matter, many doctor's offices have emergency appointments available on the same day. You need to call for this type of appointment and you will most likely not meet your own GP.

If you are in need of medical assistance, your GP should always be the first contact point. When it's outside of regular office hours and the question cannot wait, you can call 116 117 and they will advise you further. Sometimes they can offer simple advise that you can do at home, or recommend products at the pharmacy. In other cases they will ask you to come to the ER, you may even get an appointment, so please do not show up unannounced. See Bergen Kommunes pages for more information (Norwegian only).

For serious emergencies and when it's a matter of life or death, call 113.

Health services are also provided by a large number of private clinics. Many of them are open in the evening and on weekends. However, they tend to be quite costly.

When consulting a doctor or other health care providers you are required to pay a patient user fee (egenandel).

Once you have paid a certain amount in user's fee, you are entitled to receive a healthcare exemption card ("frikort"). This will excempt you to pay user's fee for the rest of the calendar year. Registration of fees goes autmatically and electronically, and you can keep track of your use when you log in to helsenorge.no. When you have accrued the maximum amount in user's fee for a calendar year, you will receive an exemption card in the mail. You will have to show the card to get the excemption.

Under the following circumstances, medical treatment is free of charge:

• When you are admitted to hospital and are a member of the National Insurance Scheme, you do not pay for treatment, medication or hospital accommodation. Exception is outpatient clinics.
• Expectant mothers do not pay for pregnancy check-ups.
• Children under the age of 12 do not pay any medical user fees, and no one under the age of 18 who requires psychological help has to pay any treatment fees. Fees required for children under the age of 16 may be added to the fees of a parent.

For more info Helfo for private citizens

• Norway’s dental health system is a little different than its health care system. Children and young adults to the age of 18, have free "normal" dental care (orthodontic treatment is not free).
• Dental care for adults is mainly private.
• For dental emergencies contact Fylkeskommune.The clinic can also be contacted by phone 55 31 03 10. Check its website for opening hours.