Preventive health in Portugal – vaccinations and screening programmes
The goal of preventive health is to prevent or identify diseases at an early stage.
In Portugal, two of the main preventive health initiatives are:
Everyone has access to free and safe vaccination in Portugal.
The National Vaccination Programme (PNV) allows everyone to receive vaccines according to their age and in qualified health centres.
Go to the health centre in your area of residence in Portugal, with the vaccination card/record of the country where you came from, so that the vaccination service can provide any vaccines that you may need.
Diphtheria and tetanus vaccines are compulsory
In general, vaccination under the National Vaccination Programme is not compulsory. However, there are exceptions such as the diphtheria and tetanus vaccines, which apply in the following cases:
- To enrol in an educational establishment, you must have up to date diphtheria and tetanus vaccinations.
- In order to take an exam at an educational establishment, you must also have up to date vaccinations against diphtheria and tetanus.
The Directorate-General for Health (DGS) recommends that everyone be vaccinated with all vaccines available under the National Vaccination Programme in order to reduce the impact of diseases on personal and public health.
Screening is an early diagnosis process for people who currently show no symptoms. The aim is to reduce the number of deaths through earlier diagnosis and, in some cases, also reduce the number of new cancer cases.
In Portugal, cancer screening programmes exist for breast, colorectal and cervical cancer.
The recommendation for each screening depends on the person’s gender and age:
- For breast cancer, a mammography is recommended every 2 years from 50 to 69 years of age.
- Colorectal cancer screening usually includes screening for hidden blood in faeces from 50 to 74 years of age.
- For cervical cancer, screening includes the cervical cytology test (Pap test) in women aged between 20 and 30 and up to 60 years old.
Schedule an appointment at your health centre to obtain a prescription for the examination
If you are a citizen of the European Union living in Portugal, schedule an appointment at the health centre in your area of residence to obtain the prescription for the examination.
If you suffer from cancer, you may be exempt from medical fees
Treatment of cancer is exempt from medical fees for:
- patients undergoing complementary consultations and examinations as part of cancer treatment
- patients with a disability equal to or more than 60%, confirmed by a multi-purpose certificate
- patients with a monthly income of less than 1.5 times the Social Support Index
- transplant patients
- children and young people up to 18 years of age.
Non-emergency transport to public hospitals in order to receive healthcare is free of charge for:
- cancer patients
- patients with a disability equal to or more than 60%
- minors suffering from a life-threatening or limiting disease
- transplant patients.
Subsidised cancer medicines
For the treatment of cancer pain, a subsidy of 95% of the cost of strong analgesics is provided by the Portuguese State.
Medicines provided by public hospitals for cancer treatment patients are free of charge.
For more information on screening programmes in Portugal, please see the National Health Service website and the Q&A page of the Directorate-General for Health.
In the event of an emergency, please contact:
- Medical emergency – 112
Available 24 hours a day, every day.
112 is the single European emergency telephone number available throughout the European Union. Calls are free of charge.
- Health Line 24 - 808 24 24 24
For health queries, available 24 hours a day, every day. For administrative contact (non-clinical), available from 8am to 10pm, every day.
The 24 Hour Health Line provides prioritisation, advice and referral in case of illness. The cost of the call is the same as for a call to a landline.