Maybe1day

We have moved to the Tarragona area from Malaga just recently. We were covered for Medical care in Andalusia. We went into a Pharmacy with our health cards to pick up our medicines and we were told, "Tough" we have nothing to do with the Spanish system etc etc. Tried several Pharmacies, One was quite rude in insisting that they never want anything to do with Spain. Has anyone else had this experience, we were told in Malaga that the system was national!!

cricketman

Healthcare in Spain is specific to the autonomous community you live in

So you need to apply for some new health cards in Catalunya

Maybe1day

So holiday makers say from Madrid cannot go to a pharmacy here etc?
We got our medicines but had to convince them that we were in a sort of limbo
and then pay the full price.

cricketman

Yes they can, but you are not on holiday, you are resident in Catalunya, hence why you need to get new health cards

Maybe1day

No, we are still resident in Malaga! We are still on the Empadronamiento di Torremolinos.
We were told point blank that the Andalusia health cards mean nothing here.... (By 4 pharmacies) we also stated also that we were Spanish residents.

snikpoh

This is also what I've been told. Cards can only be used in different communidads in an emergency but they can't be used in chemists!

They are talking about making the medical cards totally usable across all of Spain - hmmm, will I still be alive then?

One of the issues is that they all seem to use different technologies - some have chips on them, some use barcodes and all the databases are different and don't talk to each other.

Maybe1day

An update,
I applied for my pension recently although it was over 2 years since I could and duly received an S1. I was told by the local medical centre all that I had to do................ I got the required docs and took them to the local SS office in Vendrell where a kind lady did all the necessary things and gave me a piece of paper saying she would send everything to the Tarragona office and I would get my card in about 3 weeks. After 4 weeks I went back there and was told that it was not ready yet!! and she gave me another piece of paper to take to th local medical centre. I went there and was told that the docs that they told me to get before were not sufficient and wrote down what else I needed. I went to the Ayuntamento, was asked to pay 1.60E and to come back the next day. Ok, picked up this piece of paper and went back to the medical center, where i was told that this was NOT the correct piece of paper but it was useful anyway. I went back to the Ayuntamento, filled in another form and was told to come back the next day. I duly went back and picked up this piece of paper and went back to the medical centre, finally it was ok but it must be sent to Barcelona!!!
It will be about 4/5 weeks before I get my card which will probably be superfluous because maybe the other one will arrive.
I started this on the 3rd of February, I have a docter they tell me and I can get emergency medical treatment at the hospital but...................
Catalunya.... No thanks, Burocracy, Roads full of potholes, lousy refuse collection service, lack of parking, dirty streets, litter barely out of sight, and rather squalid...............
Why ever did we leave Andalusia???????
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