The GP is here for you

There are several ways to meet with a doctor when you need to

Appointments

You can book an appointment with a GP between 8:00 and 16:00 on weekdays, and each appointment is 20 minutes.

You book the appointment by logging into My Pages on Heilsuvera or by calling your health care centre. 

There may be a wait of a few days to book a time with a doctor. If the appointment cannot wait, we direct you to walk-ins, same-day appointments, and urgent care services, but we cannot guarantee that you will be able to meet with your personal GP.  

Walk-in after-hours care

GPs see walk-in after-hours patients from 16:00 to 17:00 for abrupt illnesses.

Appointments are shorter and address a single, specific issue. 

Same-day appointments

Every day there are several same-day appointments available at every centre. You call the centre, and an appointment is made after your needs have been assessed.

Urgent care

During work-day hours immediate care is available without a prior appointment.

In urgent cases, you can always receive care during work-day hours. If your GP is not available, another doctor or nurse will step in.

You can find more information about the medical care arrangements at your health care centre.

Sometimes a phone consultation or electronic communication solves the problem

Phone consultation

GPs offer phone consultations. You call your health care centre and typically the doctor calls you back that same day.

Phone consultations are best suited to simple issues, such as inquiring about the results of a test or a follow-up about the progression of an illness. One issue is addressed per call.

Information on arranging a phone consultation appointment and what days you can talk to your GP can be found on your health care centre’s website.

Electronic communication

It is very easy to send inquiries to health care professionals through Heilsuvera’s secure communication system. These communications are recorded in a medical database.

One employee at the health care centre receives all the messages through Heilsuvera and delivers them to the right hands. This ensures that messages are answered even if the intended employee is not at work.

Electronic communication works well to for instance ask about the results of a test or to figure out the next steps in treatment.

Communications on Heilsuvera are answered during work-day hours, usually the same day or the following day.

Video chat

Health care professionals can offer individuals video consultations if circumstances require. The video consultation takes place through secure communication on My Pages on heilsuvera.is.

If a health care professional you are in treatment with has booked a video consultation for you, please read these instructions prior to the video consultation: 

This service is in its beginning stages and not everyone is offering the feature at the moment.

 

Every family has a right to see a family doctor about their health-related problems.

  • The GP will have an overview of your and your family’s health, provide you with continuous services and is your liaison with the health care service. 
  • The GP will diagnose and treat your health problems and provide you with targeted advice if you need further help within the health care system, such as specialist services.
  • The GP maintains complete confidentiality, and there is mutual trust between him and those he cares for. 

GPs are specialists in family medicine and have completed 4-5 years of specialist training, just like other specialists in the medical profession. 

Health care centres often employ student doctors, both doctors who specialise in family medicine and doctors in the so-called candidate’s year. Those doctors work under the guidance of specialists at the health care centre and do not have their own registered patients. 

 

You can choose your health care centre and when you register yourself at that health care centre you get a specific GP.

Every GP has a limit on the number of patients they can have, so often GPs cannot take on additional patients. You can therefore only choose between doctors at the centre who are not fully booked.

It sometimes happens that all the doctors at your registered health care centre are fully booked, in which case you are registered to the centre itself and all the doctors there take care of you. You will be offered a space with a GP when one opens up. Families with children and individuals with chronic illnesses usually go first.

If your GP stops working at the health care centre, you will get another GP or wait for a spot to open up. If your GP moves to another health care centre in the capital area it is sometimes possible for you to follow the GP there.

If you wish to switch GPs for any reason you can ask whether another GP at the health care centre has an opening, wait for another GP or move to a different health care centre.

You can see on the Health Insurance portal and on Heilsuvera which health care centre you are registered at and who your GP is. On the Health Insurance portal you can register yourself at a health care centre but registering with a GP takes place only at the health care centre itself.

If you do not have a GP it is often because there are no openings with a GP at your centre. You will still receive all the medical services offered at the centre, just as those who have a GP. The difference is that more than one doctor will take care of you. 

You can always turn to the nearest health care centre for medical help, whether or not you are registered there. We recommend that you register at that centre if you intend to continue going there. 


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