Statutory Care Guarantee and Availability of Care

The statutory Care Guarantee means the period of time during which the patient must get into non-urgent treatment or examination and which is stipulated by the Health Care Act.

Time periods dictated by the Care Guarantee:

• One must be able to get an immediate phone contact to a health centre or to visit it during its opening hours on weekdays.
• If the evaluation of the need for treatment requires visiting a health centre, one must get an appointment within three workdays.
• One must get treatment at a health centre within three months. At Oral Health Care and Special Health Care it is possible to exceed this period by three months if possible without endangering the patient’s health.
• At Special Health Care the evaluation of the need for treatment must be started within three weeks from the referral’s time of arrival.

Emergency Services and urgent treatment must be available immediately.

Regional State Administrative Agencies and Valvira oversee the fulfilment of access to treatment.