The visit fee for an initial appointment (including telemedicine appointments) with a specialist, physical therapist, speech-language pathologist, or clinical psychologist at Viljandi Hospital is 20 euros. The visit fee does not apply to follow-up appointments or to independent appointments with nurses and midwives.
The 5-euro visit fee applies to:
- mothers of children under one year of age;
- persons over 63 years of age;
- recipients of a disability pension or old-age pension under the State Pension Insurance Act;
- a person determined to have partial or no work capacity under the Work Capacity Support Act;
- an unemployed person as defined by the Labor Market Measures Act;
- a recipient of subsistence support under the Social Welfare Act or a member of their household, provided that subsistence support was paid to the person or their household during the month in which specialized outpatient care was provided or during the two preceding months.
The following are exempt from the visit fee:
- patients up to and including 18 years of age;
- pregnant women (upon presentation of a prenatal care card);
- war refugees (immediately upon arrival in Estonia, if they do not have an Estonian personal identification code);
- inmates;
- hospital employees in the event of an injury sustained while on the job;
- patients undergoing long-term care at the hospital (compulsory treatment, tuberculosis treatment, treatmentand rehabilitation services, social welfare services, or independent inpatient nursing care) when they visit a specialist at the hospital;
- in cases of urgent psychiatric treatment;
- in cases of infectious diseases that pose a threat to public health (from HIV-positive individuals, those with active tuberculosis and their close contacts, and patients receiving directly observed antituberculosis therapy (upon referral to a specialist in the relevant field)); List of Infectious Diseases Posing a Threat to Public Health
- patients for whom the provision of urgent outpatient specialist care is immediately followed by the provision of inpatient health care;
- patients who have been referred from the Emergency Department to a higher-level hospital;
- patients whom a specialist at the Hospital refers to another specialist at the Hospital, or whom a specialist at another healthcare provider refers to a specialist providing the same healthcare service;
- appointments with a physical therapist, speech-language pathologist, or clinical psychologist, provided the patient is referred by the same healthcare provider or another healthcare professional at the same health center;
- in the case of a repeat outpatient specialist consultation (re-scheduled for the same outpatient service; the visit fee is paid once a year)
- when providing fee-based healthcare services for which the visit fee is included in the price of the visit;
If the relevant information is not available in the Viljandi Hospital information system, the patient must submit documentation proving eligibility for the discount to be exempt from the visit fee or to have the 5-euro rate applied.
If a reason for exemption from the visit fee or eligibility for a discount is identified, but the patient has already paid the visit fee, the patient has the right to request that the overpaid visit fee be canceled and refunded.
The visit fee must be paid before the appointment at the hospital reception desk, the Emergency Department (EMO), or a mobile unit, either in cash or by card. In the case of an initial telemedicine appointment, the hospital will send the patient an invoice via email, which must also be paid before the appointment.
Review the guidelines for paying the appointment fee HERE.