Unlike some other countries, in Belgium you have complete freedom to choose your own doctor. To find a doctor who speaks your language in Brussels; please go to website : w www.mgbru.be (FR/NL/EN)

So-called ‘fund doctors’ generally apply a fee close to the amount which the mutual insurance association will cover. But with the amount of medical fees being unfixed in Belgium, some doctors, and especially some specialists, apply higher rates. We would therefore advise you to make enquiries before making an appointment.

To benefit from the reimbursements

• The provider of medical services (doctor, chemist, etc.) will use your identity card to check whether you have the right to reimbursement of your medical expenses. He will do this using his own direct access to the system. The data will not be stored on your identity card, so no civil servant or policeman, for example, will have access to your personal details. Children under 12 and people who do not have a Belgian electronic identity card will receive an ISI+ card. If you still have a SIS card, it will remain valid until the end of 2015!
• You will receive stickers a few weeks following your registration. It’s indispensable for identifying the documents sent to your mutualité.

All doctors must, at the end of your consultation, issue you with a certificate (‘attestation des soins’) which you should send or take to the mutualité association in order to claim your reimbursement. Do not forget to put your sticker on it to get identified and reimbursed.

Chemists and Medicines

They are open from Monday to Friday and some on Saturday morning. Opening hours vary, although most close for lunch (12:30 am - 2 pm). On Saturday afternoons and Sundays, the local chemists take it in turns to provide an on duty service. The addresses are posted every month in the windows of all the chemists, with a telephone number, and also listed in the Vlan and the major daily papers.
www.apotheek.be (NL/FR)

Most medicines available on the international market can be obtained in Belgium, although they may have a different name than in your home country. In this case, ask your doctor to draw up a prescription setting out the chemical composition of the medicine you usually have, so that an equivalent can be found in Belgium. Most chemists have a homeopathic section although, unlike other countries, no reimbursement for homeopathic preparations is currently provided for by the mutualités in Belgium. However, some mutualités will reimburse them up to a set amount, depending type of healthcare cover you have opted for.

FAMHP (Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products) ensure the quality, safety and efficacity of medicines and health products in clinical development and on the market. http://www.fagg-afmps.be (FR/NL/EN)

  Back to Social Security & Health