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Know your rights as an EU citizen
As long as you are scheduled for a medical operation in Ireland through the public healthcare system, you have the right to have that operation carried out in another EU/EEA country, one which offers the same treatment.
Du må være medlem av folketrygden
Alle som er medlem av Folketrygden, har ifølge folketrygdloven rett på nødvendig medisinsk behandling i et annet EU/EØS-land. Kriteriet er at du allerede står på venteliste for operasjon i Norge.
Les om medlemskap i folketrygden på NAV.
Rett på operasjon i EU/EØS
For å kunne benytte deg av ordningen med rett til operasjon i et annet land i EU/EØS, må behovet for nødvendig medisinsk behandling ligge til grunn. Du må aller først ha fått henvisning fra lege i Norge, og plass på venteliste for operasjon i Norge.
Når du har fått plass på en slik venteliste, kan du sette i gang med å finne en behandler med ledig kapasitet og kortere ventetid i et annet EU/EØS-land.
Be fastlegen om å sende henvisningen til deg – du trenger den når du skal bestille operasjon hos våre partnersykehus.
Finn riktig behandling som refunderes av Helfo
Standard prosedyre for å benytte seg av helsehjelp i spesialist-helsetjenesten i andre land, er at du selv må finne en behandler og hente inn tilbud på egenhånd.
Helfo har ikke en liste over godkjente behandlere i utlandet, men nasjonalt kontaktpunkt i hvert av landene i EU/EØS skal kunne gi en oversikt over respektive lands behandlingstilbud.
Pasienten må selv undersøke kvalitet, tilgjengelighet og innhente tilbud på behandling.
Are you qualified for the Cross Border Directive Scheme?
To apply for the scheme, you must be ordinarily a resident in Ireland and prove you intend to live in Ireland for at least one year and that you are entitled to public healthcare. As a public patient in Ireland, you must qualify for the healthcare you want and have a valid referral letter for the treatment.
Your right to surgery in the EU/EEA
Types of Healthcare Available to Irish Patients Under the Cross Border Directive
There is no definitive list of specific healthcare treatments which HSE patients can avail of abroad under the Cross Border Directive scheme. However, if the healthcare you are seeking is available publicly in Ireland, you can be referred for the same healthcare abroad. Patients GP and/or Consultant can tell patients if they qualify.
For examples of healthcare treatments which are and are not available under the scheme through the HSE please see here.
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Application Requirements
All EU/EEA citizens have the right to access healthcare in any EU/EEA country and be reimbursed for care abroad by their country of residence. The cross-border directive and provision of cross-border healthcare strikes the right balance between maintaining the sustainability of health systems, while protecting patients' right to seek treatment outside their country of residence.
The cross-border directive affords all EU/EEA patients the right to undergo planned medical procedures in another EU/EEA member state. To qualify for application to the cross-border directive as a patient who is resident in Ireland you must:
- Be ordinarily resident in Ireland – living in Ireland and can prove you intend to live in Ireland for at least 1 year
- Be entitled to public healthcare in Ireland
- Be accessed as a public patient by a GP or Consultant in Ireland
- Be scheduled for a treatment/procedure in the public healthcare system in Ireland, and be placed on a waiting list
- Qualify for the healthcare you are seeking as a public patient in Ireland
- Have a valid and formal referral letter from a GP and/or Medical Consultant all scheduled healthcare procedures
- Fully follow the cross-border directive process
Applicants pay for any healthcare that they receive abroad themselves and are then reimbursed by the HSE under the cross-border directive.
How Dr Fast Track supports patients to apply for the scheme
As a patient centred service, Dr Fast Track has the primary goal of assisting anyone who wishes to exercise their right to have a necessary healthcare treatment/procedure in another EU/EEA country, under the cross-border directive. Dr Fast Track aims to provide patients with easy access to all the relevant information required to complete this process.
When patients seek to access their right to cross-border healthcare (under the directive) it can be a daunting, sometimes challenging process, due to differences in language, treatment facilities, quality of healthcare systems, healthcare options, pricing, and currency exchange rates. Dr Fast Track offers patients a fast, secure, and reliable route through these daunting aspects of the application process, free-of-charge to the patient.
Dr Fast Track has an extensive range of pre-approved healthcare partners who are trusted with high-quality healthcare facilities across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany where patients can choose to schedule their treatments/procedures. These facilities have national approval in their respective countries and have all been quality assessed by Dr Fast Track.
All our partner facilities have committed to an agreed pricing structure for specific treatments/procedures which does not exceed the amount which Irish patients are entitled to under HSE reimbursement. As a result, this means, that the vast majority (with exceptions in some rare cases) of fees paid by patients will not exceed the amount they are entitled to under HSE reimbursement.
All Dr Fast Track partner healthcare facilities have an average waiting time for treatment of between 1-6 weeks, equalling shorter waiting lists.
Therefore, by using Dr Fast Track, patients can be confident that they are choosing a healthcare facility that will provide them with a top-quality and secure treatment/procedure, that will be within the price-range they are intitled to reimbursement under HSE.
The application process
Once a patient meets all the above criteria, they can begin the application process for accessing healthcare abroad, facilitated by the Dr Fast Track portal. Please review the following step-by-step guide for the best way to utilise the Dr Fast Track Website to schedule your healthcare abroad (using the cross-border directive).
Step One: Review the HSE Cross-Border Directive website to see a full list and overview of all EU/EEA countries which are approved for use under the cross-border directive as a HSE patient. To access their website, see: here
Step Two: Create an account on the Dr Fast Track portal, you will not be required to upload any medical information to the Dr Fast Track portal at any stage of the application process. All relevant medical information will be sent directly by the patient to their chosen healthcare facility.
Step Three: Identify your desired healthcare facility from the list of Dr Fast Track’s pre-approved heartcare providers - and ensure that it is approved by the HSE for use under the cross-border directive.
Step Four: Contact said healthcare facility and schedule your required treatment/procedure, at this stage you will need to provide all relevant medical details and referral letter(s).
Step Five: Once you have successfully scheduled your healthcare treatment/procedure, you can provide the HSE Cross-Border Directive Office with prior notification of your scheduled treatment (with all relevant details) and your intention to seek reimbursement for said treatment/producer under the directive.
Contact details for this HSE Cross-Border Directive Office: Postal Address: HSE Cross Border Directive, National Contact Point, St. Canice’s Hospital Complex, Dublin Road, Kilkenny. Phone Number: 056 778 4546 / 056 772 0551 Email Address: crossborderdirective@hse.ie
Step Six: Receive scheduled treatment/procedure in selected healthcare facility abroad, once you are home and have paid for the treatment, you can officially apply for reimbursement (in line with the HSE cost of the received producer) from the HSE.