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the crazy 1
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hi firstly what a great site, i have been reading the posts regarding health conditions in france, i am diabetic on tablets and have high blood pressure and angina currently i live in the uk but i am looking to come to france for 6 months in the winter but i am worried about my prescriptions. is it possible to retain my english doctor and have someone send my medication or will i need to register in france, i have heard that medicine is expensive in france and i have quite a few pills to take. also i have regular check ups what do i do about that?

The bottom line is i am thinking of moving for 6 months initially but don't know where to start so any help greatly appreciated

many thanks

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It's not clear from your post what your intentions are in terms of living in/moving to France.

If you are remaining a UK resident and just visiting France for six months, then you will still fall within the NHS for your heathcare and you will be covered by an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card - formerly known as the E111).  This entitles you to emergency medical treatment whilst visiting France (the same as if you were on holiday here), but you will have to pay for your treatment/medication, then claim back a proportion (typically around 70% of the cost) from the French Heathcare service.  However, the EHIC process is not intended to cover routine ongoing medical situations such as yours and you'll end up having to pay for a significant part of your treatment.

You could speak with your UK GP about this, but he could well be uncomfortable with issuing six months worth of advance prescriptions without having the opportunity to undertake the periodic examinations necessary to confirm that your course of treatment was still appropriate.

On the other hand, if you are coming here in order to take up permanent resident in France, then you will have to register under the state healthcare scheme.  You will also become tax resident here and will have to make a tax declaration.  Your taxable income is taken into account when calculating the amount you have to contribute towards your state healthcare insurance.  Dependent upon your age and circumstances, you can apply to the DWP for the appropriate E-form which will ease the cost burden to a certain degree.

 

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If this is any help  a word with your doctor  may get you 2 or 3 months  supply of your pills in one go...my doctor when he knows I will be in France  over 28days will do this.....I have also had a member of the family get my tablets and post out to me . 
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You go online and speak to a doctor who never gets to see you and he prescribes drugs over the internet?

Personally, I wouldn't touch this with the proverbial barge pole, where is the drug authentication in all this, are the drugs those approved by NICE and the FDA or the crappy cut drugs from Mexico, India even Greece and other weird places where the veracity of the meds can't be verified??

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Mmmm very odd Tony, The medical team consists onf one Doctor and I wonder if the Grudian and Independant  on Sunday know that this apparently "regular contributor" to their papers is prescribing drugs to people he has never met or likely to, in foreign countries and probably assisting them to avoid having to pay into the Health care systems where they live.  Sounds like a story for the grudian to follow up I think[6].

EDIT

Having had a good look at the detailed service, if this doctor is sending drugs to people he has never sees that is certainly not what his website says, he claims to be able to see you when you want to be seen, rather like my French GP actually.

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hi thanks for all your replys, firstly i am hoping to come to france for 6 months only not to live out there well not yet. i am hoping to get a feel for the place and i have'nt even found an area yet. i suppose before i came out there i want to get all the facts and the medical side is concerning me the most, so am i correct in thinking that i may be able to get 2-3 months off my doctor but if i am there for 6 months i will have to pay for them privatly and claim upto 70% back are they expensive from a regular doctor? can i actually register with a gp and get them that way. i am not so concerned if it is an emergency or a one off visit it is only my regular medication, anyone had similar experience also are there any leaflets or websites that explain the process i.e doctors fee presciptions etc.

many thanks

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So am i correct in thinking that i may be able to get 2-3 months off my

doctor but if i am there for 6 months i will have to pay for them

privatly and claim up to 70% back

Yes and No  if it is not an emergency  I don't know how you can claim back 70%  on an EHIC, perhaps others know how this works, your own GP may or may not provide additional supplies.

Are they expensive from a regular

doctor?   By that I assume that you mean a French doctor, the answer is yes because you pay the pharmacy the cost of of the drugs.

Can i actually register with a gp and get them that way

No,  you cannot register if you don't live in France but you will have to get a prescription from a GP to get the drugs you can go to any GP but that visit will cost you 21€

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The amount of medecin that your UK GP is prepared to prescribe in advance is a matter for him and you should speak with him first.  No-one here is capable of saying what he will agree to.

If you require further medication/check ups whilst you are in France, then you can visit a French GP for this and he will examine you and prescribe what you need. You will have to pay his consultation fee as well as the pharmacy bill for the medication.  You will receive a claim form (feuille de soins) for each of these payments which you fill in and send off to your local CPAM office for reimbursement.  Full details of this process is explained in the instruction leaflet which comes with your EHIC.

As a non-registered person, a one-off visit to a GP will cost you 21€ of which you can reclaim 60%  (minus a 1€ fixed charge) = 11,60€.

Medication varies in cost.  Most items are reimbursable at 60% although medicines for less serious complaints are reimbursed at 35%.  You are encouraged to accept generics which are available at a lower cost.

You can also find a full explanation of the French side of things by visiting the [url=http://www.ameli.fr]French Healthcare Service website[/url].

 

 

 

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Tony and Ron

The link I mentioned is for a properly run Pharmacy come doctor service. They wont give you any drugs you are not supposed to have and yes the drugs are the correct ones and not some cheap imports.

You don't have to use their service. I merely pointed it out as a reliable alternative for someone who finds it difficult to obtain the drugs they need there in France.

For instance. If your not fluent in French and you need some of your regular medicine but find that it's not available there.

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As Sunday Driver said ....your Doctor will do what he wants to do to help you over the period you are away...he should be  helpful  as ....I think you will find that with the number of people today who go "overseas " for months at a time your Doctor will be well used to the request for more than one months supply of your medication ... There will be a   "Review is due on....... "  date on your prescription. You can if the review date is while you plan to be in France  request that it be brought forward  or put back .  If you are ticking along fine on your  repeat medication and with little or no history of problems over a long period of time you should get a review just before you go then a date for one when you plan to get back ....I have gone longer than 6 months between mine ....as you know you can get sombody to sign for your tablets if you cant get to the chemist ...then ..into a jiffy bag  you have pre addressed and stamped up and into the post box .

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[quote] I (sic) am diabetic on tablets and have high blood pressure and angina currently i live in the uk [/quote]

In which case you must have very regular bood pressure checks, ECGs and various other routine assessments to ensure your insulin replacement therapy is working correctly and is adequately controlling your sugar levels and that you are not liable to edge into hypoglyceamia.

You ought properly to be seeing a doctor at least monthly, to be sure.

Also remember that certain BP meds have potentially serious side-effects: for example, thiazide diuretics (e.g. Bendrofluazide which is a common ancilliary BP med), can dangerously upset salt levels, in particular Sodium and more importantly, Potassium, which is essential for correct muscle function. The heart is a muscle.Thiazide diuretics are quote often precribed alongside BP-Specific medications, such as Beta Blockers, Angio-Antagonists and etc.

Don't take chances!

I do hope you have a wonderful six months in la Belle France!

 

 

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The answer seems to be if you value your health, it might pay you to visit a Doctor while you are here.They are quite normal and usually very helpful as are the Pharmacies. If it costs you a few euros for your peace of mind it is a small price to pay. As Sunday Driver pointed out, if you get the correct E form before you leave the UK and tell your Doc what you are doing you shouldn't have too much to worry about. Hopefully, the slower pace and enjoyment  of all things French may ease your problems. Bonne Sante.

Regards.

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[quote user="Tony F Dordogne"]

You go online and speak to a doctor who never gets to see you and he prescribes drugs over the internet?

Personally, I wouldn't touch this with the proverbial barge pole, where is the drug authentication in all this, are the drugs those approved by NICE and the FDA or the crappy cut drugs from Mexico, India even Greece and other weird places where the veracity of the meds can't be verified??

[/quote]

I belong to a COPD forum which is largely American; many people there order meds from ADC in India (because of costs in USA) and are very satisfied with them. For various reasons we've ordered a couple of things and have been very pleased. I understand your point but you shouldn't generalise.

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Hello the crazy 1,

Hello,

I think for all sorts of reasons including health arrangements you probably need to make at least 2 trips. The first trip should be to establish at least the area, if not the precise location, where you think you can happily live and the second trip being your extended stay for a few months which will enable you to come to a decision concerning permanent residence. Once you have decided on an area then you can then introduce yourself to a doctor even though you will not actually be able to register with him/her.

As you have not made any final decision on a permanent move to France you can only rely on the EHIC. This card now covers "necessary" treatment not just "immediately necessary" or emergency treatment as was the case with E111. So this can cover your medication and standard check ups. I think most GPs in the UK will give up to 3 months supply of your regular medication in these circumstances. Should you need to pay out for further care in France then the level of cover offered by the EHIC is difficult to predict. As a diabetic in France one is covered 100% for care, so under reciprocal arrangements the EHIC should do the same for those on a temporary visit. I would be the first to admit that what a EU directive states and what actually happens on the ground can be contradictory. Your other medication should at least be covered 65% but the diabetes, blood pressure and angina combined may constitute a case for 100% cover. Where a grey area does appear is if extra treatment/tests are recommended as desirable but not strictly necessary (they could wait until your return to UK) then EHIC may not be accepted.

The advantage of choosing a specific area is that you have a CPAM office to whom you can refer concerning refunds and if you go as far as opening a French bank account the refunds can be made direct to your account (and therefore more quickly) even though you only have EHIC. Again not all CPAM offices will offer this facility to EHIC holders but most will nowadays.

Regards

Owen

[email protected]

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Medical costs can be expensive in France as the french Government has increasingly restricted the range of medicines that are eligible for reimbursement by the social security system, and the rate at which they are reimbursed has also been reduced.

I found some information on the health system in France that you might find useful.

http://www.french-property.com/guides/france/public-services/health/

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