Family physicians
To switch family physicians, you must submit an application to the new family physician. The application is available here (in Estonian). Some centres also offer the option of submitting the application on their own website.
The completed application must be delivered or digitally signed and sent to the new family physician.
The family physician will inform the patient of their inclusion on the practice list or refusal to do so within seven working days of submitting the application. In case of refusal, the reason must also be stated.
The family physician may refuse to include the patient on their practise list if their list has exceeded the limit set for them (2,000 or 2,400 people) or if the residential address of the patient in the population register is not within the service area of that family physician.
The family physician may include the patient on their practise list, regardless of the list size limit and the number of people included on the list, if:
1. the residential address of the patient in the population register indicated in the application is within the service area of the family physician or
2. a family member of the patient is included on their practise list. The family physician may decide to not include the patient (even if a family member of the patient is included on the practise list) on their practise list if the list limit has been reached and the residential address in the population register is not located within the service area of the family physician.
Information about the service areas of family physicians can be found on the website of the Health Board.
Patients have the right to choose their family physician. Therefore, if the patient is happy with their family physician, they do not have to find a new one in another city. However, a family physician from Tallinn cannot come to Tartu for a home visit if the need arises, and it may also be difficult for the patient to see their family physician when they have been issued a certificate of incapacity for work, so we recommend choosing a family physician close to home.
The family physician issues a referral based on speciality; a specific medical institution is not specified. The contract partners of the Health Insurance Fund help all insured patients, regardless of their residential address.
E-consultation referrals, however, are made based on the medical institution. In this case, the family physician will ask the patient about the suitability of the medical institution in terms of location so that the patient can go to a specific institution for the appointment.
A digital referral has a validity period during which it is possible to book an appointment. The appointment can also take place later (after the referral has expired), i.e. if the patient has booked an appointment based on a valid digital referral, the referral no longer needs to be valid on the day of the appointment. The default validity period in family physician programs is six months, but the person who issues the referral can change it if necessary. You can view your valid referrals and book appointments in the Health Portal. You can go to any contractual partner of the Health Insurance Fund throughout Estonia for an appointment.
Family physicians can issue a certificate for sick leave after examining the patient and identifying the illness. They can issue a certificate for work leave starting on the weekend if the illness can be proven retrospectively – the illness has been documented at another medical institution or the patient has contacted the family physician counselling line.
A family physician is not required to serve a patient on the practise list of another family physician unless it is an emergency. However, there is no legal requirement that only your personal family physician on can issue the health certificate.
In this case, the family physician sets the price of the service, as the Health Insurance Fund does not pay for the health certificate. However, the family physician must publish a price list for paid services so that every patient can get acquainted with it. The components of the price of the service are determined by the family physician.