Medical Spanish for appointments and care

This topic is for anyone thinking about, planning or carrying out a move to Spain. After reading it, you should be able to follow what a doctor tells you, read what you are given and sign only what you understand. Health card registration, prescription costs, everyday phrases for describing pain and choosing private insurance are covered elsewhere.

Start with "Spanish medical glossary for symptoms, conditions and specialists". It gives you the core words for body parts, conditions, tests and specialist names, and the other pages build on them. From there, move to the page that matches your next step: a first health-centre visit, a medicine box, a report, a consent form or a search for a doctor who speaks your language.

Medical Spanish for appointments and care: the whole process, step by step

• Get your tarjeta sanitaria and a family doctor at your centro de salud: before you need care, as soon as you are registered as a resident

• Learn the basic words for symptoms, conditions and specialists (see the Spanish medical glossary article): before your first appointment

• Book a cita previa with your médico de familia by app, phone or at reception: often 2 to 7 days ahead, longer in busy areas; urgent problems are seen the same day

• Bring your foreign records and medicine list to the first visit: at the first visit

• Get tests and a referral to a specialist if needed; your doctor sends an electronic referral marked ordinaria, preferente or urgente: preferente usually aims at 15 to 30 days; urgente within days to about two weeks

• Collect your medicine and read the box and prospecto: on the day of the prescription

• Get a sick note (baja) from your doctor if you cannot work: at the visit; confirmation visits follow every 14 days for leave of 5 to 30 days, every 28 days for 31 to 60 days, every 35 days beyond 60

• Ask for your reports and a copy of your medical history, and ask what you did not understand before signing consent forms: after the visit; copies usually take days to a few weeks, and at most one month

• For children, follow the pediatra checks and vaccination schedule: newborn visit in the first week, then roughly 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 months

Documents you may need

Translations and legal papers

• Sworn translation of your records — Bringing your foreign medical records to a Spanish doctor

Other documents

• The signed consent form — Informed consent (consentimiento informado) when you do not understand
• Current medication list with active ingredient names — Bringing your foreign medical records to a Spanish doctor
• Summary of your diagnoses and medical history — Bringing your foreign medical records to a Spanish doctor
• Note of your allergies and adverse drug reactions — Bringing your foreign medical records to a Spanish doctor
• Cartilla or documento de salud de la embarazada — Pregnancy, birth and child health vocabulary in Spanish
• Your medical report — Informed consent (consentimiento informado) when you do not understand
• Recent test results such as blood work or an ECG — Bringing your foreign medical records to a Spanish doctor
• Discharge summaries and operation reports for major past events — Bringing your foreign medical records to a Spanish doctor
• Specialist letters for chronic illnesses such as diabetes — Bringing your foreign medical records to a Spanish doctor
• Glasses and dental records — Bringing your foreign medical records to a Spanish doctor

Medical Spanish for appointments and care: questions that cross several articles

How do I get my first doctor's appointment in the public system?

You book a cita previa with your assigned médico de familia once you have your tarjeta sanitaria. Use the regional app, phone or the centre's reception; a GP wait is often 2 to 7 days. Read "How a Spanish health-centre visit works, from referral to sick note (baja)" next.

Who gives me a sick note and what happens after it?

Your médico de familia issues the baja electronically and sends it to the social security institute, and you give your employer a copy. Confirmation visits follow at set intervals.

How do I find out my test results and understand them?

Most regions let you see results in the regional health app, and your doctor reviews them with you at a follow-up visit. Read "Understanding a Spanish medical report or discharge letter (informe)" to decode the report and "Spanish medical glossary for symptoms, conditions and specialists" for the terms.

Can I get my medical report in English?

No, you have no clear right to a translated report, because reports are issued in Spanish or a co-official regional language. You must usually pay for translation yourself, though some regions offer interpreting help. See "Finding a doctor who speaks your language in Spain" and "Informed consent (consentimiento informado) when you do not understand".

Where can I learn what dosage wording on my medicine means?

Phrases like cada 8 horas (every 8 hours) and en ayunas (on an empty stomach) are explained in "Reading medicine boxes, leaflets (prospecto) and prescriptions". For matching your usual medicines to Spanish names, read "Medicine names and dose wording that differ in Spain".