Information on healthcare providers and professionals in Spain

Healthcare providers can be either public or private in Spain. There is an information system on the portfolio of services at the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality which includes the contents of the National Health System's Common Portfolio of Services you may benefit from if you decide to seek cross-border healthcare (CBH) in Spain. The above is without prejudice to the health services informing users about their rights and obligations, the National Health Service's (NHS) benefits and services and the necessary requirements to use them.

Act 14/1986 of 25 April, the General Health Act, sets forth the substantive principles and criteria that have enabled the National Health System to be set up: a public, universal and free system, definition of the rights and obligations of citizens and public authorities in this matter, political decentralisation of health, integration of the different public structures and services at the service of health into the National Health System and their organisation into health areas, and the development of a new primary care model placing emphasis on the integration of healthcare activities at this level, as well as on prevention, promotion and basic rehabilitation.

Hence, the National Health System is comprised of the health services of the Central Administration of the State and the health services of every regional authority, which include all the centres, services and institutions of each regional authority, local authorities and any other territorial public administrations.

Information on healthcare providers and professionals can be obtained at:

• National Catalogue of Hospitals:

A catalogue of public and private hospitals in Spain containing information on their location, functional dependence, ownership and staffing. It allows you to search for and query information through a search application and to download the Catalogue and its database.

• General Registry of Health Centres, Services and Establishments (REGCESS)

Information on public and private healthcare providers* in Spain and their healthcare offering, including: centres offering hospitalisation (hospitals), centres not offering hospitalisation and other centres offering healthcare services. It allows you to access a search application and obtain directories of centres.

The information contained in the Ministry of Health's General Registry of Centres comes from the health centre registries of the regional authorities.

• Catalogue of Public Primary Healthcare Centres:

A catalogue of centres which provide publicly funded primary healthcare services. It allows you to search for centres and provides information on their address, contact telephone numbers and the basic services available, including: family medicine, paediatrics and nursing care.

• Services and Units of Reference of the National Health System
• The services and units of reference ensure safe, efficient and high-quality healthcare to patients suffering from diseases which require cases to be grouped together in order to handle them better due to the need for advanced technologies, a high level of specialisation or because they are low-prevalence diseases (rare diseases). These units and services provide nation-wide coverage and provide NHS users who need them equal conditions of access regardless of their place of residence.
• The care provided by services and units of reference includes healthcare, support to confirm diagnoses, outlining therapeutic and follow-up strategies and a consultancy service for the clinical units which usually provide care for these patients.