Three in Ten Adults Did Not Get Health Care in Reasonable Time, and the Sickest Struggle Most to Stay in the System, According to a Medical Association Survey
A national survey for the Ordem dos Médicos finds 29.9 percent of adults did not get care in a reasonable time last year, and that the 48 percent with the worst health find it hardest to keep regular follow-up. Here is what the study found and how to get into the system.
Almost three in ten adults in Portugal (29.9 percent) say that in the past 12 months they did not get health care within a time they considered reasonable, because they could not get an appointment or were left on a waiting list. So finds a national survey for the Ordem dos Médicos (the Portuguese Medical Association), presented on Thursday 5 November. Its sharpest conclusion: those who need care most find it hardest to stay in the system.
The study, "Retrato da Saúde em Portugal no Pós-Pandemia" (A Portrait of Health in Portugal After the Pandemic), was designed and analysed by a team at the Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical of NOVA University Lisbon (IHMT-NOVA), coordinated by Tiago Correia. According to the full report, it rests on 700 telephone interviews with adults aged 18 and over living on the mainland, Madeira and the Azores, conducted from September to November 2025. The sample was stratified by region and weighted by age; the margin of error is about 6 percent.
Three kinds of patient
The researchers sorted respondents into three profiles:
- "Vulnerable" (48 percent): older on average, in worse health and often living with several chronic conditions. They use the SNS (the national health service) often, but mostly when something goes wrong, with little regular follow-up and not always with a family doctor. They report more financial and practical barriers.
- "Episodic" (34 percent): younger and healthier, they use services rarely and do preventive care irregularly.
- "Integrated" (18 percent): a stable relationship with their family doctor and health centre, regular check-ups and high uptake of screening and vaccination.
"They are the people who need it most and the people who find it hardest to keep their place in the health system," Correia told Lusa, in comments reported by RTP.
Public and private
Asked about local services, 40 percent of respondents rated access to the SNS as easy or very easy, while 36.3 percent called it difficult or very difficult. For private providers, 63.5 percent said access was easy or very easy. Many people use both, so these are perceptions, not a direct comparison. Some 43.9 percent said they have private health insurance, and 81 percent said they have a family doctor assigned.
Cost is a smaller barrier than waiting: over the past year, 6.7 percent said they went without a consultation, test or treatment they needed because of the price, and 4.4 percent did not buy prescribed medicines because of cost.
What it means for you: routes into care
- Get your SNS user number (número de utente). Any foreign national legally resident in Portugal can get one and receives it on a first visit to a public health unit such as a health centre or hospital. For the SNS to cover your costs, your record also needs an ID document, your Portuguese tax number (NIF), a full address in Portugal and a valid residence permit, according to the government's guide on health care for migrants (in Portuguese).
- Register at your local health centre. With your user number, register at the centre for your area of residence, where family doctor consultations take place. If you live temporarily in another municipality for study or work, you can register temporarily at another centre for up to 12 months.
- Call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24 before heading to a hospital emergency department. The line offers triage, advice and referral, 24 hours a day for clinical calls. In a life-threatening emergency, call 112.
The survey comes as the new hospital appointments system slips to January; see also the outlook for family doctor coverage.
