Healthcare in Norway

Hello,

Health system in Norway is quite ok. If your coming here for certain type of visa like tourist , you need to provide yourself a private health insurance . But if your living here and a citizen in Norway  you have all the rights for all the health benefits they have but you have to wait longer to get the benefits they have but then that's all free. If you have private insure then it's more faster .

How does it work?
1. Everyone who is registered with the authorities (folkeregister) and has a resident permit is automatically insured in public healthcare system. (This is the general rule, there might be exceptions, so please check...)
2. There are some private providers, who deliver faster service, but you (or the employer) has to pay. Some companies offer additional private insurance to access these services
3. You cannot go directly to a specialist. You need a referral form your GP first.
4. It is not completely free. You have to pay every visit around 200 NOK (it varies and I never figured out how they set the fees...)

Is it efficient?
No, not really. There are long waiting lists for many procedures and the system is extremely bureaucratic and long winded. Opening hours  GP's clinics are often worker-unfriendly and it can take weeks before you can see a doctor.
The service level might vary from region to region. I live in a bigger city...

In general the public healthcare system is o.k. But I experienced way better (faster) healthcare in other countries like Japan, Germany, UK  and Canada.

Jhebanz24 wrote:

Hello,

Health system in Norway is quite ok. If your coming here for certain type of visa like tourist , you need to provide yourself a private health insurance . But if your living here and a citizen in Norway  you have all the rights for all the health benefits they have but you have to wait longer to get the benefits they have but then that's all free. If you have private insure then it's more faster .

I think it might be necessary to clarify a few things here:

1) you do not have to be a Norwegian citizen to be on the national healthcare. You have to be a legal resident in the country.
2) even on the national scheme, you do have to pay something. Last time I went to the doctor it was something like 320 NOK. I believe this charge does depend on what your financial standing is though, so it is probably less for students and pensioners.

my experience in a medium sized town for Norway was actually quite decent. I got appointments within two weeks at the regular doctor and appointments with a specialist within a month to a month and a half. The clinics are indeed open somewhat limited hours but IME Norwegian employers are understanding of this and allow for time if necessary.

Just to add on the fees, you pay per year the first 2 670 NOK of medical expense, after all is free except most medications that are not covered by system. Dental care is not covered at all. In case of pregnancy, everything is free.

You do have to pay for medical services and  drugs, so every time you see a Doctor or visit  hospital you pay, BUT only up to a certain amount each year, think it is now  around  2200 Nk.  after you have reached that figure everything is free, more or less ! . Some  drugs are free, if they are considered  life saving ones I think.  If you visit a specialist at Hospital or have xray you can get your transport costs refunded, just fill in a claim form and you will get it  refunded to your bank account. Children  get fee treatment, but not pensioners. Dental treatment is not  covered by the Health system , you pay for treatment.

I personally think there is a huge problem with the public healthcare in Norway.  I am currently pregnant and is now under the free maternity healthcare system.

I came from singapore and Singapore has quite a good reputation of being a medical hub in Asia.  I had problems during my 1st trimester and the Norwegian doctors just brush it off.  The midwives told me that there is nothing they can do since it is in the 1st trimester.  They DON'T DO ANYTHING IN THE 1ST TRIMESTER, NOT EVEN SCAN.  I have to go to private if I wish to do detailed check. 

I happened to need to travel back to Singapore later and had the same problem happening (still in my 1st trimester) but this time, the doctors in Singapore took better care of me.  They scanned thoroughly and managed to find the source of the problem.  They gave me hormone injections to stablilize my pregnancy.

When I returned to Norway, i tried to show the results of the scan and diagnosis to the Norwegian doctors but THEY REFUSED TO LOOK AT THEM.  They have a god-like attitude that they don't believe anything that is not diagnosed by them.  Please!  If the results is coming from a third world country with very bad healthcare, I can understand.  This is coming from a first world country with reputable medical expertise.

I gave the Norwegian doctors the medical name for my condition.  Guess what they said?  never heard of it.  No such thing!   WTF!!!  I printed out all the information from my research in the internet and they said, there is no such thing!!!

My experience with Health care in Norway is that it is efficient but extremely long waiting times to see a specialist if you do not have private health insurance.

You pay every time but only up to a limit before you get a free card.  Travel to medical things can be refunded but you need to take care of the paperwork.  The trip must be verified before you get refunded.  This reqires a bit of learning about what is necessary. If you don't ask for this information everyone will figure you already know about it...so ask:)

I have been diagnosed with MS and am getting better care here than I hear about from other countries so am well pleased to be here.

To read about my experiences with the healthcare system in Norway, go to my blog/website at: www.norwayliving.com

Yes, i agree with "formight", Norwegian doctors have a reputation to uphold - that of being unaware of what "good care " means,. Don't get me wrong, they will listen politely and then totally ignore what you've just said.

A case in point. I live in "tick" country in the West and you can get a nasty disease from a bite - it disabled someone's husband for 9 months or so! Now I've also been to Siberia for work reasons but I was offered a jab for the same disease by the British doctors during my pre-trip medical and that occurred before hearing about Ole Brunn.

When you really get down to it, it's a difference in culture that's at the heart of the matter.

Asking about medical care received is a tricky question. Ask a 100 people and you'll get 100 different answers lol!

My personal treatment has been good and there is definitely a leaning towards preventative health care here, (including high taxes on unhealthy things) and almost every time you go to the doctors they want blood samples to test for a range of factors. This is a smart and cost effective system on the basis that the earlier things are caught, the cheaper they are to 'fix'.

I think my 'regular' appointment came in a week or so, but have used the 'emergency' system several times with the children. Here you physically turn up at the door at 8am and take one of the slots available later that morning (not usually with your 'own' doctor).

During my one stay in hospital I was treated very well, if you ignore the fact that it took several doctors two days to diagnose rampant sinusitis.... (when I googled my symptoms afterwards it seemed obvious)...

On balance it's above average I would say, maybe slightly better than the UK for regular stuff, but I worry that some staff just don't have the experience that comes from living and working in a place with 10 or even 50 times as many people and the corresponding literary/managerial/regulatory input that comes with that.

just another point to add about my friend's experience.  She is a Chinese who married a local norwegian.  Her son was sick a couple of years ago and their doctor (a local norwegian) did various tests and could not figure out why.  She spoke to her doctor friend back in Singapore and her friend told her it sounds like Kawasaki diseases which is very common in Asians.  The friend suggested her to tell her doctor to do a test on kawasaki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_disease

She passed the suggestion to the norwegian doctor.  Guess what the doctor say?  "There is no such thing.  we don't have such kind of thing happening to Norwegian".  Excuse me???  The kid is half Asian!!!

In the end, treatment turned out too late because of the stubborness of the doctor.  When my friend finally got it proven that it is Kawasaki disease, the doctor did not apologize or admit his mistake.  They wanted to press charges but the hospital pays them off to silence the matter.

This is how narrow-minded and "frog in a well" Norwegian doctors are!