Handover to Spanish specialists

It is for anyone considering, planning or carrying out a move to Spain. You will know how to get your existing condition accepted, referred and followed here, and how to keep several conditions or another person's care organised.

Start with "Handing over from your home specialist to a Spanish one". It shows you how to arrange letters, calls and agreed next steps so a Spanish specialist can take over. The other pages follow from there, so pick the ones that match your situation.

Key rules

• Foreign reports: A foreign report is treated as information, not as binding, so the Spanish doctor may repeat tests, change medicines and continue treatment on their own judgment.
• Public referral: In the public system, your family doctor normally has to refer you to a specialist, except for urgent care and some services that allow direct access in your region.
• Translation: A sworn translation is not normally needed for clinical care, but it is needed when a report goes to an authority as formal evidence.
• No direct transfer: Handover is a letter plus a family doctor referral or a private booking, not a clinician-to-clinician transfer.
• Public access: Without urgency, you need your family doctor's referral before seeing a public specialist, unless your region allows direct access to that service.
• Private access: You can book a private specialist directly without a referral.

Handover to Spanish specialists: the whole process, step by step

• Gather your home specialist's report and test results, and ask for a handover letter (see: Handing over from your home specialist to a Spanish one): before you move, or as early as you can

• Understand what Spanish doctors will re-check from your foreign diagnosis (see: Will Spanish doctors accept your foreign diagnosis and treatment plan?): before your first appointment with the family doctor

• Book the family doctor (médico de familia) and ask for a referral to a specialist (see: Getting referred to a specialist for a condition you already have): as soon as you have your tarjeta sanitaria

• Ask for the right priority on the referral; the GP proposes it and the specialist or hospital reviews it: at the referral visit

• Wait for the first specialist appointment in the public system; the national average is around 2 to 3 months, longer in some regions and specialties. Private care can be booked directly (see: Getting referred to a specialist for a condition you already have): roughly 70 to 100 days after the referral

• Set up scheduled reviews with your family doctor (see: How ongoing care works with your family doctor (médico de familia)): stable diabetes about every 3 to 6 months, controlled hypertension once or twice a year, stable asthma or COPD at least once a year

• If you have several conditions, keep your family doctor as the hub (see: Coordinating several conditions and specialists in Spain; for helping a relative, see: Helping someone else with their healthcare in Spain as a carer): once more than one specialist is involved

Documents you may need

Identity and residence

• Copies of both your ID and the patient's ID — Helping someone else with their healthcare in Spain as a carer
• The patient's health card number or ID details — Helping someone else with their healthcare in Spain as a carer

The home and the lease

• A treatment history from your prescriber listing each medicine's active — Will Spanish doctors accept your foreign diagnosis and treatment plan?

Translations and legal papers

• A sworn translation of your report — Will Spanish doctors accept your foreign diagnosis and treatment plan?

Other documents

• Handover letter from your home specialist — Handing over from your home specialist to a Spanish one
• Current medication list from your home specialist — Handing over from your home specialist to a Spanish one
• Key test and imaging reports with dates — Handing over from your home specialist to a Spanish one
• A written authorisation signed by the patient — Helping someone else with their healthcare in Spain as a carer
• Vaccination record or device details from your home clinic — Handing over from your home specialist to a Spanish one
• Recent test results — Will Spanish doctors accept your foreign diagnosis and treatment plan?
• Imaging such as MRI — Will Spanish doctors accept your foreign diagnosis and treatment plan?

Each article lists the other documents it asks for, where you need them.

Handover to Spanish specialists: questions that cross several articles

Can my home specialist hand me straight over to a Spanish specialist?

No, there is no formal specialist-to-specialist channel for incoming patients in the public system. You bring the handover letter, your family doctor reads it and refers you. Some private clinics may accept direct contact. Read "Handing over from your home specialist to a Spanish one" next.

Will the Spanish specialist just continue my foreign treatment plan?

Not automatically, because Spanish specialists treat a foreign report as information and decide on their own judgment. They often repeat key tests and may switch medicines to those on the regional list. Read "Will Spanish doctors accept your foreign diagnosis and treatment plan?" and "Getting referred to a specialist for a condition you already have".

Can I skip the family doctor and see a specialist directly?

Yes, in private care you can book a specialist directly and pay yourself, and many insurance policies allow direct access within their network. In the public system you normally need a referral, except for urgent care and some services your region lets you book directly.

How long will I wait for my first specialist appointment in the public system?

The national average wait is around 2 to 3 months, roughly 70 to 100 days, and it is longer for some specialties and regions. Priority is set by clinical need, so urgent cases are seen faster. Read "Getting referred to a specialist for a condition you already have" and "How ongoing care works with your family doctor (médico de familia)" for what happens after.