How to use an online doctor in Italy

Online care doesn’t suit every symptom, and the rules vary by provider and region. The Ministry of Health’s national telemedicine portal gives an official overview of how telemedicine works in Italy. This guide covers when an online doctor makes sense, what to prepare, and how prescriptions work. It also explains when to contact the guardia medica (the out-of-hours medical service) or go straight to the pronto soccorso (the emergency department).

In a medical emergency, call 112 (or 118 where 112 is not yet active).

Key takeaways

• Online doctors can be a practical option in Italy for mild, non-urgent health problems, especially if you don’t have a medico di base yet or need a doctor who speaks English.
• In an emergency, don’t book an online appointment. Call 112 (or 118 where 112 is not yet active) or go to the pronto soccorso. For non-urgent care at night, at weekends, or on public holidays, contact the guardia medica.
• Public televisits through the SSN are mainly used for follow-ups with patients who have already been diagnosed in person, and they’re generally subject to the same co-payment (ticket) as in-person appointments, unless you’re exempt.
• Private online doctors are usually paid upfront. Check the total price, including any extra fees, before you book.
• A prescription, sick note, or referral is never guaranteed. Private doctors normally issue a ricetta bianca, which means you pay the full price of the medicine.
• Before booking, check that the doctor is registered with an Italian medical council using the FNOMCeO register search.
• If you have private health insurance, check whether your policy covers online consultations, and keep your invoice (fattura) so you can claim the cost back.

Wise for paying for healthcare in Italy

• Convert to EUR: Change money in advance for upfront consultation fees
• Pay by card: Use your Wise debit card for upfront online consultations
• Hold EUR for care costs: Doctor fees, tickets and pharmacy bills in one balance

Learn more about the Wise account

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How telemedicine works in Italy

Telemedicine is part of Italy’s healthcare system, but how you access it depends on whether you go through the public or the private route. Many expats first encounter telemedicine through private providers, especially while they are still waiting to be assigned a medico di base or are not yet fully registered with the SSN.

In practice, an online doctor’s appointment usually means a video call, phone call, or other digital consultation with a licensed doctor. The doctor may review your symptoms, advise you on next steps and, where medically appropriate, issue documents such as prescriptions or referrals. However, not every problem can be resolved remotely.

Tip: Before booking with a private provider, you can check that the doctor is registered with the Italian Medical Council through the FNOMCeO register search.

Which telemedicine services are common in Italy?

Italy uses several specific terms for remote care, and it’s worth knowing them before you book. For more detail, see the page What is telemedicine? (in Italian) on the Ministry of Health’s telemedicine portal.

• Televisita: a remote appointment between a doctor and a patient
• Teleconsulto: a remote consultation between doctors or other healthcare professionals about a patient’s case
• Teleassistenza: remote support from a healthcare professional, such as a nurse or physiotherapist, often as part of ongoing or follow-up care
• Telemonitoraggio: remote monitoring of health data, usually for people with long-term conditions
• Teleriabilitazione: remote rehabilitation, such as physiotherapy or speech therapy sessions guided by a therapist over video

For most expats searching for an online doctor, televisita is the most relevant term.

When an online doctor makes sense and when it does not

An online doctor can be a good option for many non-emergency situations. It may help if you have a mild illness, need a follow-up after a recent diagnosis, want to discuss a symptom that doesn’t require a physical exam, or need help deciding whether you should see someone in person.

That said, telemedicine has limits. A remote consultation cannot replace urgent treatment, hands-on examination, blood tests, imaging, or other in-person checks when those are clinically needed.

When not to rely on online care

Skip the online appointment and call 112 (or 118 where 112 is not yet active) if you have chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, or a serious injury. The same applies if you think you may be having a stroke. Watch for sudden weakness on one side of the body, a drooping face, or difficulty speaking. Get emergency help if you have signs of a severe allergic reaction, have fainted, feel confused or unusually drowsy, or if your symptoms are worsening quickly.

Use online care, guardia medica, or pronto soccorso?

The simplest way to decide is to match the type of care to how urgent your problem is.

1. If the issue is mild and non-urgent, book an online doctor.
2. If you need a doctor at night, at the weekend, or on a public holiday and it is not an emergency, contact the guardia medica (officially called continuità assistenziale). In many regions you can reach it on 116117; otherwise, check your local ASL’s website for the number.
3. If you have any emergency warning signs, call 112 (or 118 where 112 is not yet active) or go to the pronto soccorso immediately.

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How to find a legitimate online doctor service

Not every website that offers telemedicine is equally reliable. Before you book, check that the service shows real clinician names, clear company details, transparent prices, and a privacy policy you can understand.

It also helps if the provider clearly explains what it can and cannot do in Italy. A trustworthy service will not promise that every patient gets a prescription, a sick note, or a referral.

Not every website that offers telemedicine is equally reliable. Before you book, check that the service lists the real names of its doctors, provides clear company details (including its VAT number, or partita IVA), shows its prices upfront, and has a privacy policy you can understand. Because health data is especially sensitive, the privacy policy should explain how your information is stored and who can access it. For more on your rights, see the website of Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali.

A good provider also explains clearly what it can and cannot do in Italy. A trustworthy service will never promise that every patient will receive a prescription, a sick note, or a referral.

How to verify a doctor’s credentials in Italy

Every doctor practising in Italy must be registered with a provincial medical council (Ordine dei Medici). The simplest way to check is to use the search tool on the website of FNOMCeO, the national federation of these councils, which lets you look up any registered doctor by name and city.

When you search, check that the doctor’s full name, the provincial council they’re registered with, and, where listed, their registration number match the information on the provider’s website. The register also shows a doctor’s qualifications, so you can confirm that a doctor presented as a specialist actually holds that specialisation. If you can’t find the doctor, or the details don’t match, choose a different provider.

Insider tip: If a provider promises instant prescriptions for almost any condition without explaining its limits, treat that as a red flag rather than a convenience.

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What to prepare before your appointment

Being prepared helps you get the most out of an online consultation. Before your appointment, have the following ready:

• your passport or national ID card
• your Tessera Sanitaria (health card) if you have one, or your codice fiscale (tax code) if you don’t
• your insurance policy details, if you have private insurance
• a short timeline of your symptoms: when the problem started, what makes it better or worse, and anything you’ve already tried
• a list of the medicines you take, including the active ingredient as well as the brand name, since brand names often differ in Italy
• any allergies
• recent prescriptions, test results, or hospital discharge letters

Only use the codice fiscale issued to you by the Agenzia delle Entrate. Codes produced by online calculators are not official and may not match your registered code.

Can online doctors issue prescriptions, sick notes, or referrals?

Sometimes, but only if the doctor thinks it is clinically appropriate. An online consultation may lead to a prescription, a repeat prescription, a referral, or another document, but none of these are guaranteed.

In Italy, it also matters who the doctor is. Prescriptions that the SSN helps pay for, and referrals for subsidised tests or specialist appointments, generally have to come from a doctor working within the public system, usually your medico di base. A private online doctor will normally issue a ricetta bianca (private prescription), which means you pay the full price of the medicine. Some medicines and documents also require an in-person examination, and private services may set their own limits on what they will issue.

Most prescriptions in Italy are now electronic. Instead of a paper prescription, the doctor sends you a prescription number by email or text message. You show this number at the pharmacy together with your Tessera Sanitaria or codice fiscale. You can find more information on the government’s Sistema Tessera Sanitaria portal.

Costs, insurance, and reimbursement

The cost of seeing a doctor in Italy depends on the type of care you choose. If you use public telemedicine through the SSN, you’ll usually pay a co-payment (ticket), unless you’re exempt. If you use a private online doctor or book a private in-person appointment, you’ll normally pay the full fee upfront, before or at the time of the consultation.

If you’re paid in another currency or your savings are in your home currency, a multi-currency account such as Wise lets you hold euros and pay the provider by card in EUR. That way you know the cost in advance and avoid surprises from currency conversion.

Prices for private care vary between providers and regions, so check the total price on the booking page before you confirm, including any extra fees. It’s also worth asking whether the provider will give you an invoice (fattura), as you’ll usually need one to claim the cost back from your insurer. If you have private health insurance, check whether your policy covers online consultations and whether the provider can bill your insurer directly.

When private insurance can help

Private insurance is most useful if you want faster access to care, a wider choice of providers, or financial cover while you’re still registering with the SSN. This can be especially helpful for expats who are new to Italy. For some residence permits and visas, private health insurance is also a requirement, so check your permit conditions before you buy a policy.

If you are comparing policies, options such as Cigna health insurance and APRIL health insurance may be worth reviewing. Just make sure you check the exact terms for telemedicine, direct billing, and reimbursement, because coverage depends on the individual insurance policy.

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Limits, red flags, and common expat mistakes

A common mistake is assuming that every doctor will speak English well enough for a medical appointment. If language matters to you, check before you book. Another mistake is expecting a foreign prescription to work in Italy. Prescriptions from other EU countries are generally recognised, but prescriptions from outside the EU usually aren’t, so you’ll need an Italian doctor to issue a new one. For more details, see the European Commission’s guide to using a prescription in another EU country

It’s also easy to assume that every provider will accept your insurance, or that an online doctor can deal with any problem. In reality, not all providers work with every insurer, and the doctor may decide that you need an in-person examination, tests, or a different kind of care.

When choosing a service, watch for the warning signs described in the section on finding a legitimate provider. Be especially wary of services that put pressure on you to pay before you understand what you’re paying for.

Practical tip: If you need medication urgently on a holiday or late at night, checking your nearest farmacia di turno can save time, but it does not replace a doctor when a prescription medicine is required.