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Healthcare and prescription rules in Portugal

Portugal's Serviço Nacional de Saúde was restructured on 1 January 2024, when the five regional health administrations (ARS) were dissolved and replaced by 39 Unidades Locais de Saúde (ULS) — each one combining a hospital with the health centres around it under single management, so referrals and records sit in one organisation rather than two. Anything written about Portuguese healthcare before 2024 describes a structure that no longer exists. The autonomous regions sit outside this: Madeira is run by SESARAM and the Azores by their own regional service. For non-emergency symptoms the national nurse-triage line SNS 24 (808 24 24 24) assesses you by phone and directs you to self-care, a health centre or an emergency department; from 26 February 2026 calling it first became mandatory specifically for obstetrics and gynaecology emergencies, with exceptions where there is a suspected risk to life. EHIC and UK GHIC holders access state care on resident terms.

Antibiotics are classified as prescription-only in Portugal and cannot be bought over the counter. Amoxicillin, azithromycin, flucloxacillin, nitrofurantoin and the rest require a prescription from a licensed doctor, and pharmacies are supervised by INFARMED, the national medicines authority, together with the Ordem dos Farmacêuticos, including inspections and mystery-shopper checks on exactly this rule. Out of hours, a rota pharmacy — the farmácia de serviço — is posted at every closed pharmacy, and 112 is the emergency number.

An online consultation is not emergency care. Anywhere in Portugal, call 112 if symptoms are severe or life-threatening.