Handing over from your home specialist to a Spanish one

Key rules

• No direct transfer: Handover is a letter plus a family doctor referral or a private booking, not a clinician-to-clinician transfer.
• Foreign reports: A foreign report is treated as information, so the Spanish doctor may repeat tests and change medicines.
• Direct contact: A call or email between doctors needs your consent and is not routine.
• Letter content: Name medicines by generic name and state the actions you want from the Spanish doctor.

How the handover works

The handover is a letter that you carry, not a transfer between doctors. The Spanish public system has no official specialist-to-specialist channel for people arriving from abroad. Your letter goes to a family doctor (médico de familia), who reviews it and refers you to a specialist. In private care you can book a specialist yourself and bring the same letter.

The decision block below helps you choose between the two routes. The step-by-step process shows the order of events.

Get a letter the Spanish doctor can use

Ask your home specialist for the letter before you leave. A usable letter is signed and dated, shows the clinic's details and gives a contact for the specialist. It should cover:

• the main diagnosis and the date it was made
• relevant history, including surgeries, allergies and other conditions
• key test and imaging results with dates, with reports attached and images on a disc or through a portal
• current medicines by generic name, with dose and duration, plus past treatments and how they worked or what side effects they had
• the treatment plan, the monitoring schedule and the next tests due
• vaccinations or devices, if they matter for your condition
• the specific questions or actions you want from the Spanish doctor

The last point matters most. A letter that says "please confirm the next scan and take over prescribing" is easier to act on than a history alone. The documents list and the sample letter below carry the detail.

Agree next steps

Before you go, settle two things with your home specialist and then with your Spanish doctor:

• Tests: which key tests will be repeated in Spain.
• Prescriptions: who will issue them. In the public system, the family doctor may need to issue them.

What the Spanish doctor will do with it

Your letter is treated as information. The Spanish doctor may repeat tests, change medicines (for example to ones on the regional list) and continue treatment on their own judgment. Some drugs or procedures may not be funded. Expect this, and ask your doctor to explain any change.

Can the two doctors talk directly?

Sometimes, but do not rely on it. A call or email is possible if you give written consent, and it is easier in private care. Public doctors have little time, so a written report works best. Give your consent in writing and agree a secure way to send records. Check with the Spanish clinic before your home specialist contacts them.

Choosing between options

How should you pass your foreign specialist's recommendations to Spanish care?

• Bring the letter to your family doctor: You want public care: the family doctor reads the letter, then refers you to a specialist and issues prescriptions in the public system.

• Book a private specialist directly: You want faster access or direct contact with your home specialist, since private doctors' contact details are usually easier to get.

Choose public care if you will use the public system, and private care if you want to book directly. Either way, bring a clear letter with test results; the Spanish doctor may repeat tests and change medicines.

Step by step: from home specialist letter to first Spanish specialist visit

From home specialist letter to first Spanish specialist visit

• Ask your home specialist for the handover letter and attached reports: before you leave, or as soon as you know you are moving

• Register as a resident at your town hall (empadronamiento) and get recognised for public healthcare through work, social security affiliation or another qualifying status: before you ask for a health card

• Ask your regional health service for a health card (tarjeta sanitaria) at a health centre or online, and get a centro de salud and family doctor assigned: after you are registered and recognised

• Book your first appointment with the family doctor by phone, app, online portal or in person, and bring the letter: once you have the card and an assigned doctor

• Let the family doctor assess your case and send the referral to the specialist: at that first appointment

• Wait for the hospital to contact you with the date, by SMS, phone, letter or app; you may also get a printed appointment sheet: after the referral is sent; the national average wait for a first specialist consultation is around 2 to 3 months, and it is longer in some regions and specialties

• Read the appointment notice for the venue, floor and time, since the hospital or specialty centre is assigned to you: as soon as the notice arrives

• Go to the first specialist visit with your letter, reports and medication list: on the appointment date

Documents you need

• Handover letter from your home specialist, signed and dated, with the clinic's details and the specialist's contact details. It covers the main diagnosis and its date, history (surgeries, allergies, other conditions), the current treatment plan and monitoring schedule with next tests due, and the questions or actions you want from the Spanish doctor.

• Current medication list from your home specialist, using the generic name (the international nonproprietary name), dose and duration, plus past treatments and their results or side effects.

• Key test and imaging reports with dates, attached to the letter, with images on a disc or available through a portal.

• Vaccination record or device details from your home clinic, where they are relevant to your condition.

Checklist

• Ask your home specialist for a signed, dated letter with the diagnosis, history, test results, medications and treatment plan.

• Ask the letter to list medicines by generic name, with dose and duration, and past treatments with their results.

• Ask the letter to state the monitoring schedule, the next tests due and the specific actions you want from the Spanish doctor.

• Plan to hand the letter to your family doctor, since the handover goes through a letter and a referral or a private booking, not a direct transfer between specialists.

• Agree with your Spanish doctor which key tests will be repeated and who will issue your prescriptions.

Handover letter your home specialist can send to Spain

Send this structure to your home specialist and ask them to fill it in on the clinic's letterhead. Ask for a short Spanish summary at the top if they can write one. English is usually fine for hospital doctors, but a Spanish summary helps family doctors and admin staff. Reports in other languages, such as Hebrew, Russian or Arabic, will often need translating. For normal care an informal translation is enough. The rules on sworn translation are covered elsewhere on this page.

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[Clinic name, address, phone, email]

Date: [day / month / year]

To: [Colleague at the receiving clinic in Spain, or "Treating physician"]

Re: Transfer of care for [patient full name], born [date of birth]

Resumen en español (optional, 3 to 5 lines): [Diagnosis, current treatment and what you ask of the Spanish clinician.]

1. Main diagnosis [Diagnosis] — diagnosed on [date].

2. Relevant history

• Surgeries and procedures: [what, when]
• Allergies and intolerances: [substance, reaction]
• Other conditions: [list]

3. Key test results and imaging

Full reports are attached. Images are provided on [disc / portal link and access code].

4. Current medication List each drug by its active ingredient (the international nonproprietary name, called DCI in Spain), with the brand in brackets if known. Use metric units and 24-hour times.

5. Past treatments [Drug or therapy, dates, result or side effects.]

6. Current treatment plan and monitoring

• Plan: [summary]
• Tests due next: [test, due date]
• Follow-up interval: [e.g. every 6 months]

7. Vaccinations or devices (if relevant) [Vaccines with dates; implants, pumps, sensors or other devices with model.]

8. What I ask of you

• [e.g. Continue the treatment above and prescribe it locally.]
• [e.g. Repeat the blood test due in March and adjust the dose if needed.]
• [e.g. Tell me if you plan to change the treatment.]

Contact for questions: [name, phone, email, languages spoken, best hours]

Sincerely,

[Signature] [Name, specialty, registration number] [Clinic stamp, if used]

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Before you leave

• Ask for the letter as a signed PDF as well as on paper.
• Bring the latest discharge report or the medicine boxes as backup for the medication list.
• If an authority (for example for a residency file, disability assessment or insurance claim) asks for the letter, check with that office whether it needs a sworn translation.

Frequently asked questions

Can my home specialist call or email the Spanish doctor directly?

Yes, a direct call or email is allowed if you consent, but it is not routine in the public system. Public doctors have little time and use secure institutional channels, so a written report you carry yourself works best. In private care it is usually easier, because the doctor's contact details are often available.

Is there an official specialist-to-specialist channel for patients moving to Spain?

No, the Spanish public system has no formal specialist-to-specialist channel for incoming foreign patients. Your family doctor (médico de familia) reads your letter and then refers you. Some private clinics or hospitals may accept direct contact, but this varies by centre and region.

Will the Spanish specialist keep my medicines as they are?

Not always, because the Spanish specialist continues treatment on their own judgment. They may switch your medicine to one on the regional list and prescribe within their own protocols. Your family doctor may need to issue the prescriptions for the public system, and some drugs or procedures may not be funded.

What helps the Spanish doctor use my test results?

A clear letter with dated test results attached helps most. Bring reports and put images on a disc or give portal access. The doctor may still repeat or confirm key tests.