Finding a Czech GP: how registration really works

A Czech GP is not assigned to you by postcode or by your insurer. You find one, ask whether they are taking new patients and, if they are, sign a form. The system works well once you are in it. Getting in takes some phoning round, and the most useful thing a newcomer can do is start before they are ill.

People who wait until they have a fever tend to discover the same thing: surgeries that are happy to take a new patient in principle are not able to see an unregistered one at short notice. The registration is the first appointment, and it is much easier to have when you are well.

What a GP does here

A general practitioner (praktický lékař pro dospělé) is the first point of contact for adults. The GP treats common illnesses, issues sick notes, writes prescriptions, orders tests, refers you to specialists and keeps your records. Children are registered with a paediatrician (praktický lékař pro děti a dorost). Dentists and gynaecologists are separate registrations, and you can see them without a GP's referral. For most other specialists, a referral from the GP is the normal route. The wider picture is in how the Czech healthcare system is organised.

The GP is also the gatekeeper for paperwork you may need at work. A sick note, a medical certificate for an employer or a record of vaccinations all start at the surgery. A GP who knows your history can often do in one visit what a stranger would need three for.

Before you start

You need to be insured. Registration presupposes that you are in the public system, as an employee, as self-employed or as a state-insured person, or that you hold a commercial policy the doctor accepts. How Czech health insurance works for foreigners explains the routes in.

The doctor should also hold a contract with your insurer. Each insurer publishes a list of contracted providers on its website, searchable by specialty and place. Check it before you call. A doctor can appear in the national register of providers and still have no contract with your insurer.

How to find one

There is no central waiting list, so you build your own shortlist.

Surgeries keep working hours, which is why the second step matters. A doctor close to where you spend the day can be more useful than one near where you sleep, and a surgery that closes early in the afternoon is hard to reach after work. For English-language help, see how to find an English-speaking doctor in Czechia.

A GP may turn away a new patient if the list is full, and a refusal is nothing personal. Try the next number. Central Prague districts can be tight, and a surgery slightly further out may be easier.

What to bring

For the first visit, bring your passport or residence card, your insurance card (or at least the name of your insurer and your insurance number), any records from previous doctors, translated if possible, a list of current medicines, and your Czech birth number if you have one. You fill in a registration form and sign it. After that you are on the doctor's list, and the doctor reports the registration to your insurer.

A short written summary of your history helps more than a pile of foreign records. One page with chronic conditions, regular medicines (the active substance as well as the brand), allergies and past operations will be read. A folder of scans may not.

How a visit works

Most surgeries keep set hours, and many use an appointment system, online or by phone, though some still take walk-ins at certain times. Arrive on time and cancel if you cannot come, because surgeries notice no-shows. You hand your card in at reception.

Prescriptions are electronic (eRecept). The doctor issues one, you receive a code by text, email or paper slip, and you give the code and your insurance details at any pharmacy. Sick notes are electronic too and go to the Czech Social Security Administration, so there is no paper slip to carry. Check with your employer what they need from you; see Czech sick pay and sick leave explained.

Children, partners and a household plan

If you move with a family, register everyone, not only the person who works. Children need a paediatrician, and in Czechia that is a separate registration from the adult GP. A partner with their own insurance route needs their own GP. It helps to choose practices that are close to one another or close to the school, since sick children and school hours collide at the worst times. Make a single note with each person's insurer, GP, dentist and the pharmacy you use, and keep it with the emergency numbers.

Vaccination records are worth bringing from home, translated if possible, because schools and nurseries may ask for them, and a GP will want them for the file. Ask the surgery how it handles the national vaccination schedule for children, and whether it keeps the records for you.

Changing your GP

You can change doctor, but the rules limit how often, and the new doctor must agree to take you. If you move to another part of the city or to another town, start again with that area's list. Ask your old surgery to pass your records on, or request a copy.

Out of hours and emergencies

A GP's surgery is closed in the evening and at weekends. For urgent cases most cities have on-call services, usually at a hospital or polyclinic. The ambulance number is 155, and the European emergency number 112 works throughout Czechia (as of 2026; check the official source). Your insurer's helpline can tell you where the nearest out-of-hours surgery is.

A first-month checklist

Treat the first month as a small project. Week one: confirm who your insurer is and that you have the card. Week two: pick three GP surgeries from the insurer's list and phone them. Week three: register, and ask the surgery how it handles prescriptions, sick notes and out-of-hours advice. Week four: look up the nearest pharmacy and the nearest emergency department, so that neither is a surprise. It takes a couple of hours in all, and it means that a sore throat in February is a routine matter and not a research project.

Doctors are not the only door. Many pharmacies give advice on minor ailments, and the pharmacist is often the quickest answer to a question about an over-the-counter medicine. For anything that persists, the GP is the next call.

Common mistakes

Waiting until you are ill is the first. The second is registering with a doctor who has no contract with your insurer and discovering the consequence when a bill arrives. The third is arriving at a specialist without a referral and being turned away, because many surgeries ask for one in practice even where the law does not strictly require it. The fourth is forgetting to tell the GP when you change insurer, which can leave the registration pointing at the wrong place.

A smaller point that surprises people: a GP does not usually order tests on demand because you ask for them. The doctor decides what is medically indicated, and tests that are not indicated may not be covered by the insurer. If you want a check-up for peace of mind, ask what is routinely offered and what would be a private service.

Frequently asked questions

Am I assigned a GP?

No. You find a surgery that is contracted with your insurer, ask whether it is taking new patients and sign a registration form.

Do I need a referral for a dentist or a gynaecologist?

No. Dentists and gynaecologists are separate registrations and can be seen without a GP's referral. For most other specialists a referral from your GP is the usual route in practice, and many surgeries ask for one.

Do I need to be insured before I register?

Yes. Registration presupposes that you are in the public system or hold a commercial policy that the doctor accepts.

How do prescriptions work?

They are electronic (eRecept). You receive a code and give it, with your insurance details, at any pharmacy.

Phone three surgeries from your insurer's list this week and ask the same question. The first yes is your GP.

This is a general explainer, not legal or tax advice, and not medical advice. Insurance and registration rules change; check your insurer.