See a doctor in France

Before you start

You need your social security number or attestation de droits (see the health insurance guide). A Carte Vitale makes reimbursement automatic.

The médecin traitant

Your médecin traitant is your declared regular doctor. If you declare one, Assurance Maladie reimburses up to 70% of the base rate. Without one, it reimburses about 30%. For a 30-euro visit, ameli’s page shows roughly 19 euros back with a declared doctor and 8.40 euros without.

To declare one, fill in the form “Déclaration de choix du médecin traitant” and send it to your CPAM. Ask your doctor whether they can also file it for you during the visit.

Steps to see a doctor

1. Book on Doctolib.
2. Before booking, check that the doctor accepts new patients, accepts the Carte Vitale, speaks English if you need that, and is conventionné secteur 1.
3. Go to the appointment. Contact your médecin traitant first when you can.
4. Give your Carte Vitale to the doctor.
5. Pay for the visit.
6. If you have a mutuelle, it reimburses most of what remains.
7. At a pharmacy with a prescription (ordonnance), show your Carte Vitale and your mutuelle.

What it costs

A general practitioner visit costs about 30 euros on average. Home visits cost a little more. Sector 1 doctors do not add extra charges. Sector 2 and 3 doctors can be much more expensive, and the extra is not always reimbursed.

EPITA’s slide gives this example for a visit to your declared doctor:

• You pay 30 euros.
• Assurance Maladie reimburses 70%.
• The remaining 9 euros (the ticket modérateur) is mostly covered by a mutuelle.
• Your real cost ends up around 2 euros.

Common problems

• No Carte Vitale yet. Ask for a feuille de soins and send it to your CPAM.
• No appointment available. Try another doctor on Doctolib. Filter for sector 1.
• Urgent but not an emergency. SOS Médecins sends a doctor to you. See the emergency page for numbers. Check pharmacies on duty on MonPharmacien.
• Life-threatening emergency. Call 112 or 15.