Hungary has a tax-funded universal healthcare system. 

Internationals working in Hungary are covered by compulsory contributions to the National Health Insurance Fund (NEAK), usually paid by the person’s employer. To use various health services (general practitioners, specialists, dentists, or hospitals) free of charge, a person must have a social security code (in Hungarian: társadalombiztosítási azonosító jel), primarily demonstrated by an official card (in Hungarian: TAJ kártya). The employer usually requests it before the worker arrives in the country.

For more detailed information on health care services available during your stay in Hungary, check out the website of the National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary (NEAK).

General practitioners (háziorvos) are the first point of contact in accessing health care services in Hungary since they provide referrals to specialists and hospitals. Therefore, it is essential to register with a GP when you arrive in Hungary. To find out which GP belongs to your district, visit the following website here. In non-urgent cases, but in the event of illness, you should always contact your GP first.

If you would like to consult a specialist (szakorvos), you need a referral from a GP. Once you have a referral, you can make an appointment with the specialist directly. However, you do not need a referral from a GP in case you want to go to dermatology, gynaecology and paediatrics, urology, psychiatry and addiction, otorhinolaryngology and infant and paediatric otorhinolaryngology, ophthalmology and paediatric ophthalmology, general surgery and trauma surgery, and oncology.

Outpatient specialist care is available in three locations in Debrecen:

• at the Nagyerdei Campus of the Clinical Center of the University of Debrecen,
• at the Kenézy Gyula Campus of the Clinical Center of the University of Debrecen, and
• at the Outpatient Special Care Centre of the Clinical Center of the University of Debrecen

To find an outpatient specialists in Debrecen, click here.

In non-life-threatening or emergency cases, the Out-of-hours GP service should be contacted outside general practitioners’ visiting hours.

The National Ambulance Service provides the Out-of-hours GP services from the 1st of February 2023, with the personal assistance of GPs. The Out-of-hours GP service is available on weekdays between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., and between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. 

To reach the Out-of-hours GP services, call 1830 (the telephone number of the unified primary care on-call system for both adults and children).

By calling the central telephone number, patients can get professional advice, and if necessary, an emergency ambulance will arrive at their location. In the event of a life-threatening emergency, an ambulance will be dispatched immediately.

Location: 4032 Debrecen, Nagyerdei körút 98. (Clinical Center of the University of Debrecen, side wing of the Emergency Clinic).

If the child is sick (not in case of emergency), you should consult a paediatrician. Like adult GPs, paediatricians are assigned to different districts of Debrecen. See the list of paediatric GPs by district here.  

Specialist medical care is available with a GP referral. 

Out-of-hours paediatric services are available from 6.00 pm on weekdays until 8.00 am the next morning, and 24 hours a day on public holidays. The National Ambulance Service provides on-call paediatric care with the personal assistance of paediatricians in the  Pediatric Clinic of the Clinical Center of the University of Debrecen (Debrecen, Nagyerdei körút 98).

Central on-call telephone number: 1830

Wearing a protective mask is mandatory when entering a building providing healthcare.

In non-life-threatening or emergency cases, the Out-of-hours GP service should be contacted outside general practitioners’ visiting hours (see above). 

Emergency Care

Independent of citizenship, every patient in Hungary has the right to receive life-saving care in an emergency to prevent severe or permanent health impairment and to relieve their pain and suffering. 

Therefore, there is no need for referral in an emergency, but emergency care can be used immediately and directly. PHONE NUMBER OF THE AMBULANCE: 112

Emergency Clinics of the Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen

Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei Campus Department of Emergency Medicine (emergency care with non-accidental injuries for Debrecen citizens)

• Nagyerdei Campus – 4032 Debrecen, Nagyerdei körút 98
• Dispatcher Information Desk – Information for relatives (available between 6 am and 10 pm): + 36 52 411 600 / Extension 59479

Information may be given via the phone only in exceptional cases after sufficient identification of the person entitled to get information (authorized person).

• Patient Admission Desk: + 36 52 411 600 / Extension 57136

Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen, Kenézy Gyula Campus Emergency Care Division (emergency care with non-accidental injuries for people belonging to the catchment area of Debrecen)

• Kenézy Gyula Campus – 4031 Debrecen, Bartók Béla út 2-26
• Telephone number: +36 52 511 777, +36 52 511 832

Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen, Paediatrics Clinic (emergency care with non-accidental injuries for Debrecen citizens and people in the catchment area of Debrecen under 18). IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY CARE

• Nagyerdei Campus – 4032 Debrecen, Nagyerdei körút 98
• Telephone number: +36 52 255 603

Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen, Kenézy Gyula Campus Orthopedic and Traumatology Clinic (accidental (traumatic) care for Debrecen citizens and people belonging to the catchment area of Debrecen) 

• Kenézy Gyula Campus – 4031 Debrecen, Bartók Béla út 2-26
• Telephone number: + 36 52 511 777 or + 36 52 511 779 Information line: +36 80 204 414

The most important things to know

• What is the difference between out-of-hours GP services and emergency care?
• Operation of emergency care
• Arrival, placement
• Information, notification
• Release, departure

Basic dental health services are covered by national health insurance, excluding specialised dental care. You should visit the dental practice that belongs to your district, although you are also allowed to see other dentists if they approve so.

You can find a list of  dentists here.

Basic dental services can be used without a referral, while specialised care, including oral surgery, orthodontia, the treatment of periodontal diseases, child specialist care and dental x-rays can only be provided with a referral from a regular dentist.

Urgent dental care

In Debrecen, the Institute of Primary Care and Health Promotion Debrecen (Deafi) of the University of Debrecen Clinical Centre provides on-call dental care related to primary health care. 

On weekends and public holidays, the dental outpatient service is provided free of charge at the centre at Pósa Street 1, providing access to NEAK-subsidised care.

Treatment is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Advance booking by telephone: +36 30 186-68-63 (Please book an appointment, if possible).

Opening hours:
Weekends and public holidays: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Telephone number of the dentist on call: +36 30 186-68-63

The institute can be reached by DKV lines 42 and 43 (Pósa Street stop) or by car.

Parking is free of charge in the courtyard of the institute.

Debrecen has 58 pharmacies (gyógyszertár, patika) scattered around the city. 

Medicines can be bought in pharmacies without a prescription or with a valid prescription from your Hungarian GP or specialist.

Hungary also operates an e-prescription system, meaning pharmacies no longer need a paper prescription to buy medicines.

Pharmacists can use the patient’s Hungarian Health Insurance Card (TAJ kártya) and ID card to access the Electronic Medical Service Space (EESzT), which contains electronic prescriptions for each patient. Please note that Hungarian pharmacies do not accept prescriptions from abroad.

Pharmacy on call
Benu pharmacy
On-call hours opening hours during working days from Monday to Friday, Saturday and rest days, Sunday, public holidays: 10 p.m. – 7 a.m.
H-4024, Debrecen, Csapó utca 1.
Phone number: +36 52 532 839

The National Centre for Public Health and Pharmacy’s website provides detailed information about the opening hours of pharmacies in the Debrecen area and about pharmacies on duty on public holidays.

Even though Hungary offers universal healthcare, it is a common practice among pregnant women to have an obstetrician/gynaecologist (szülész/nőgyógyász) to follow their pregnancy and deliver the baby. While the pregnancy is monitored in the private practice of the selected obstetrician/gynaecologist, the babies are delivered at state hospitals. Giving birth in Hungary is medicalised, which means that there is always an obstetrician present (a midwife is not qualified for this task). Home births are not covered by the national health system and are highly regulated. In the delivery room, only one person is allowed, either the father or a helper. The Clinical Center of the University of Debrecen was the first hospital in Hungary to introduce this family-friendly policy. For this approach, in 1992, the World Health Organization recognized the Clinical Center as a ‘baby-friendly hospital’, the first of its kind in Hungary and Europe.

Health visitors or midwives (védőnő in Hungarian) facilitate the work of the obstetrician/gynaecologist and have a key role during the pregnancy period and also after giving birth. The tasks fulfilled by the health visitor range from teaching the methods of breastfeeding and performing organisational tasks related to vaccination to monitoring the status and development of premature and new-born babies, healthy and endangered infants. Once the pregnancy is confirmed, it is also the health visitor’s responsibility to issue a booklet (kiskönyv) in which all medical appointments and notes have to be recorded during the pregnancy. 

From the 1st of July 2023, the government provides health visitor services in partnership with municipalities.

The database of midwives is available here by clicking on “Védőnő kereső”. To search for a district midwife, start typing the postcode of the municipality where you want to find a midwife in the “Település” field, then type the street you are looking for in the “Utca” field.