Family doctor
Your family doctor is your first point of contact for healthcare.
Together with a family nurse, your family doctor helps to solve many health problems, monitors your health throughout your life, and refers you for tests or to a specialist if necessary.
In addition, your family doctor and family nurse monitor your baby's development, help adolescents and adults prevent diseases and keep an eye on possible chronic health problems.
Family doctors also perform minor procedures: they dress wounds, remove stitches, administer vaccinations, take samples for analysis, and make house calls if necessary. They also refer you for tests or to specialists. Family doctors advise you on all health-related issues and help you prevent illness.
Visits to your family doctor are free of charge for people with health insurance.
The fee for a home visit can be up to five euros, regardless of how many patients the doctor sees during one visit. Home visits are always free of charge for pregnant women and children under two years of age.
Important to know!
Before contacting your family doctor's center, check out their website. Many centers use digital services where you can conveniently describe your health concerns, start or end a medical and care record, order a repeat prescription, and perform other tasks.
Important to know!
Before contacting your family doctor's center, check out their website. Many centers use digital services where you can conveniently describe your health concerns, start or end a medical and care record, order a repeat prescription, and perform other tasks.
Family nurse
The family nurse has an independent reception, where she teaches and advises you on maintaining your health and preventing illness. She also helps if you have any health concerns, keeps your health records in order, and monitors your health in case of chronic illness.
If necessary, the family nurse will consult with your family doctor or refer you to a family doctor.
Choosing and changing your family doctor
If you do not know who your family doctor is, check the Health Portal "My Dashboard" or the state portal eesti.ee(Opens in new tab) under "Bank account and data in the Health Insurance Fund" or call the Health Insurance Fund's customer service line at 669 6630.
Estonian citizens, people living in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit or right of residence, and foreigners with health insurance who are temporarily staying in Estonia can register with a family doctor.
If you wish, you can also change your family doctor. However, a family doctor may refuse to register you if their list is full. Find a family doctor(Opens in new tab) who has openings on their list.
Newborns are automatically assigned to their mother's family doctor. If you want a different family doctor for your child, let the family doctor of your choice know.
To change your family doctor
1
Submit a written application to your family doctor(Opens in new tab); a separate application must be completed for each family member. You can send the application electronically (digitally signed) or by regular mail.
2
Your family doctor will notify you within seven working days of adding you to their list or refusing to do so. If they refuse, they will also state the reason.
3
You will be added to the family doctor's list from the first day of the following month, but you will receive family doctor care from the day you submit the application.
To change your family doctor
1
Submit a written application to your family doctor(Opens in new tab); a separate application must be completed for each family member. You can send the application electronically (digitally signed) or by regular mail.
2
Your family doctor will notify you within seven working days of adding you to their list or refusing to do so. If they refuse, they will also state the reason.
3
You will be added to the family doctor's list from the first day of the following month, but you will receive family doctor care from the day you submit the application.
Referral to a specialist
If your health problem requires consultation with a specialist, your family doctor can ask the specialist for advice electronically before referring you to them. This is called an e-consultation.
Your family doctor will describe your health problem to the specialist and attach the necessary test results.
The specialist will review the information and give a recommendation on how to proceed with treatment, or will invite you to an appointment themselves.
Your family doctor will always let you know if they have requested an e-consultation and will include your phone number in the referral letter.
It is very important to make sure that you have provided the correct contact number. If the specialist decides to invite you to an appointment, they will usually call you within 4–6 working days after consulting with your family doctor.
If your family doctor decides that your health concern still requires a specialist appointment, they will issue you with a digital referral letter.
The digital referral letter provides the specialist with the necessary information (why the consultation is needed) and allows you to book an appointment.
Please note!
There are specialists who you can see without a referral letter! These are ophthalmologists, psychiatrists, gynecologists, and dermatologists and venereologists.
Please note!
There are specialists who you can see without a referral letter! These are ophthalmologists, psychiatrists, gynecologists, and dermatologists and venereologists.
Family doctor helpline 1220
If you have a health concern but your family doctor is not available at the moment, call the family doctor helpline at 1220 (or +372 634 6630).
Family doctors and nurses are available 24 hours a day to provide advice in Estonian and Russian. Advice in English is available every day from 3 to 5 p.m.
The advice line can provide you with:
- recommendations for minor health concerns,
- instructions on what to do before seeing a doctor,
- information about healthcare arrangements.
If you wish, the doctor will give you personalized advice if you allow them to view your health data (e.g., previous illnesses, tests, medications).
Through personalized consultation, you can renew prescriptions and make notes for sick leave certificates at certain times (Friday evenings, weekends, and public holidays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.).
For more information, visit 1220.ee(Opens in new tab).