Seeking advice about medication

[Patrick1970]

Hello,

We recently moved from Belgium to Northern Finland and are slowly settling in.

Now, I suffer from psoriatic arthritis and need daily medication for this (Diclofenac against the inflammation - is a generic version of Voltaren - and Omeprazol as a stomach protector).
The meds I brought from Belgium are about to run out, so I need to find the best way to get them here, or something similar anyway.
Since you need a prescription for these, I assume I would need to see a doctor first. Do I just choose one myself, or do I need to follow specific guidelines for this? Do you need to make appointments for doctors or can you just go to their office when they are 'on duty'? On average, how much does a doctor's visit cost? We are enrolled into Kela, so I take it that part of this can be recuperated.

Any help would be most appreciated, thank you!

Patrick

[Pursuivant]

well it depends - do you work? so what has the work designated as your clinic? if you go to the public you need to go to your clinic which different towns have different system of areas so http://www.rovaniemi.fi/?Deptid=14826 => you have to know which "tiimi" you are of according to where you live at. and then you call in and make an appointment and it says you have a designated doctor and nurse... and if you are not dying you will be given an appointment within 3 months. basically you need to go to a GP that maybe refers you to a specialist, in the guessing centre it may take months to get to a specialist if the queues are long. of course then if your work uses a private clinic then you can go there - or any private clinic but those then cost...

hopefully you have your old paperwork with you from belgium. not that they wouldn't prefer to run their own tests as well. and then with the medicines - some of them are reimbursable, some are not, but arthritis medication usually is so you should check into that what you get... the KELA rebate sytem is clear as mud.

[Patrick1970]

Thanks for the quick reply.
I am in the process of starting up an own business, so technically I don't work for an employer, no.

So in that case I would need to go to the clinic (make an appointment) and take it from there?

[Jukka Aho]

Do you need to make appointments for doctors or can you just go to their office when they are 'on duty'?

You would need to book an appointment with a GP at your local health center. See here for some general information in English.

On average, how much does a doctor's visit cost?

On average, probably something like 11...13 euros per a visit. The fees may vary a bit from one municipality to the next. Alternatively, in many places you could pay a yearly “flat-rate” fee (perhaps 22...25 euros, or somewhere in that neighborhood) if you know you’re probably going to visit a doctor several times a year.

We are enrolled into Kela, so I take it that part of this can be recuperated.

See here.
 

[Pursuivant]

So in that case I would need to go to the clinic (make an appointment) and take it from there?

Yeah, so the Rovaniemi tiimi's are arranged by where you live at, and theres the phone numbers to call. they give you an appointment for an assessment usually within 1-3 days, so basically getting the prescriptions renewed shouldn't be a big thing - but as you know doctors they want to be sure themselves so they might test you again for things to be sure... so that then might take up to 3 months depending on the queues. the ailment isn't unknown here so it should be the same/similar medications. and you should then ask them about the KELA reimbursing bit as well. but yes, start figuring out which team you are in, then call Monday as the holidays are coming and you really want to get things done well before you run out.

[raamv]

Do you need to make appointments for doctors or can you just go to their office when they are 'on duty'?

You would need to book an appointment with a GP at your local health center. See here for some general information in English.

On average, how much does a doctor's visit cost?

On average, probably something like 11...13 euros per a visit. The fees may vary a bit from one municipality to the next. Alternatively, in many places you could pay a yearly “flat-rate” fee (perhaps 22...25 euros, or somewhere in that neighborhood) if you know you’re probably going to visit a doctor several times a year.

We are enrolled into Kela, so I take it that part of this can be recuperated.

See here.
 

but privately, it costs around 70-100 per visit!!

[raamv]

Oh and yes!! if you mention that you have a problem when you call an insurance company to enroll, then that problem, will not be covered, unless under extreme circumstances (special), so just be careful with that..