You can receive medical care:

• Outside a medical facility (in the emergency room).
• In outpatient settings, in cases that do not require 24-hour medical supervision and treatment (including home visits).
• Day hospital treatment (inpatient) if 24-hour medical supervision and treatment are required during the day.
• In a hospital, when 24-hour medical supervision and treatment is required.

ARMED is a unified health data management system where complete data related to the population's health is entered and stored. 

Doctors can electronically view a patient's health history and prescribe effective treatment.

Patients can:

• View their registered polyclinic and doctor.
• Make online appointments with doctors through the application or website.

For citizens served by state order and social packages, information about the treatment performed during the visit is also available.

Electronic prescriptions are issued using this system.

It is medical care provided outside the hospital in the event of a sudden exacerbation of an illness or a health-threatening situation. The goal is not to cure the illness but to stabilize the patient's condition.

During that time, it is possible to make a diagnosis, give injections, prescribe medications to alleviate the condition or hospitalize the patient.

The ambulance service provides 24-hour emergency medical care in the following cases:

• Sudden illnesses (acutely developing disorders of the cardiovascular, central nervous system, respiratory, abdominal cavity and other organs)
• Accidents
• Exacerbations of chronic diseases requiring urgent medical care
• Outbreaks of infectious diseases, if there is a need for urgent medical care or hospitalization of patients
• Emergencies (mass injuries, poisonings, and natural disasters)

In order for your call to be registered quickly and the ambulance to arrive quickly:

• Listen carefully to the questions and give clear answers
• Describe what happened (accident, stroke, sudden deterioration in well-being, etc.)
• State the patient’s name, age (approximate), and gender
• Provide a contact phone number
• Your details (friend, neighbor, or other)
• Hang up only after the operator hangs up

During the call, you may be given advice on certain steps to take to prevent the situation from getting worse; follow them carefully.

In Yerevan, the average ambulance arrival time is 7 minutes, with a maximum response time of 20 minutes. In rural areas of the Republic of Armenia, the arrival time after receiving the call is:

• For calls received from a distance of up to 20 km - up to 15 minutes.
• For calls from more distant places - up to 30 minutes.

It is advisable to meet the ambulance team in the yard to accompany them to the patient as quickly as possible. You should also listen attentively to possible calls, as the operator may call again to clarify the location or other issues.

Emergency medical care from Yerevan to the regions of Armenia is provided by medical teams dispatched from Yerevan upon receiving calls from regional medical institutions. These calls are for complex and narrowly specialized consultations, therapeutic interventions, and/or the transportation of patients to Yerevan.

Emergency medical care is required for the following conditions and diagnoses:

• Punctured, incised, and bitten wounds.
• Dislocated joints and bone fractures that do not require hospitalization.
• Acute skin rashes of unknown origin and acute allergic reactions.
• High body temperature before diagnosis (temperature above 38.50).
• Acute chest pain before diagnosis.
• Acute abdominal pain before diagnosis.
• Acute gastrointestinal dysfunction before diagnosis.
• Bleeding, burns, and frostbite that do not require treatment in a hospital setting.
• Acute respiratory disorders before diagnosis.

If the given medical institution does not have the appropriate license to provide medical care and services, a note is made about this in the "Urgent and Emergency Medical Care Call Sheet" regarding the medical care provided to the patient, indicating the grounds for not accepting the patient.

In-hospital medical care is free of charge in the following cases:

• Resuscitation measures
• Urgent surgical treatment of acute myocardial infarction (stenting)
• Treatment of acute or ischemic stroke
• Obstetric care
• Surgical treatment of malignant diseases
• Intestinal and other infectious diseases
• Examination and medical care of persons of pre-conscription or conscription age
• Tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment
• Mental and narcological diseases
• Hemodialysis services

Out-hospital medical care is free of charge in the following cases:

• Emergency medical care
• Outpatient polyclinic services
• Family doctor services
• Examinations approved by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia
• HIV, AIDS prevention and treatment

Co-payments may not be required from the following population groups:

• Children under 18 years of age and persons aged 18-23 left without parental care
• Women of reproductive age - during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (42 days)
• Persons with profound, severe, or moderate functional limitations, with disabilities of the first, second, or third group
• Persons receiving family benefits with a vulnerability score of 28.1 or more
• Persons of pre-conscription age and persons of conscription age registered in the reserve
• Military personnel and their family members
• Family members of servicemen who died while performing their official duty during the defense of the Republic of Armenia
• Persons discharged due to mutilation, injury, or illness received during military service - within 3 months of the start of treatment until referral for a functional assessment
• Persons cared for in orphanages, nursing homes, and homeless shelters
• Rescuers and their family members, pensioners, disabled rescuers, family members of a rescuer who died in the course of service
• Asylum seekers and their family members
• Participants of the Patriotic War
• Persons aged 65 and over for dental medical care services
• Arrested, detained, and sentenced to imprisonment, repressed persons
• Participants in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident liquidation works
• Members of the RA Olympic and Olympic family sports national teams
• Persons who have undergone forensic, forensic psychiatric, forensic drug, and narcological examinations, and additional medical examinations upon referral from a competent authority

In this case, the following are provided:

• A hospital room
• Professional consultation
• Care
• Laboratory and instrumental examinations
• Therapeutic intervention
• The use of drugs, oxygen, and other gases
• Physiotherapeutic treatment
• Surgery and surgical fixation devices
• Provision of food in anti-tuberculosis, psychiatric, and rehabilitation departments

The following services are provided with a co-payment:

• Emergency medical care
• Skin and sexually transmitted diseases
• Gynecological diseases
• Oncological and hematological diseases

The basis for receiving free and co-pay medical care is the appropriate referral, which is provided by the medical institution to which you have applied.

Referrals can also be provided electronically. Doctors can create online referrals through the ARMED electronic healthcare system, which are then accessible at the institution to which the patient is referred.

Along with the referral, you must also submit:

• An identity document
• A document confirming the fact of being included in the list of socially vulnerable and separate (special) groups
• A referral is not necessary in the case of diseases and conditions requiring urgent treatment.

You can register at the local healthcare center (polyclinic) of your residence, according to your place of residence registration. There, a personal card is opened for you, where notes are made about your health and regular check-ups.

This information is also available in the ARMED Electronic Health System.

He or she can be a family doctor, therapist, or pediatrician who will provide regular health monitoring and maintenance services.

Everyone, regardless of age, is registered with a family doctor; residents aged 18 and over are registered with a therapist, and children under 18 are registered with a pediatrician.

For children, the choice of a doctor and registration with him or her is carried out by the child's legal representative.

Individuals with the following residency statuses can register at the polyclinic and select a doctor:

• Citizens of the Republic of Armenia
• Forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh
• Stateless persons
• Foreign citizens holding permanent or special residency status in Armenia,
• Persons with refugee or asylum seeker status residing in the Republic of Armenia

Foreign citizens and stateless persons use PHC (polyclinic healthcare) and other primary healthcare services on a paid basis unless otherwise stipulated by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.

Every resident, regardless of their place of residence in the Republic of Armenia, has the right to choose a doctor within the administrative boundaries of the region of their permanent residence.

Residents of Yerevan can choose a doctor working in any primary healthcare institution operating within the city's administrative boundaries.

It is also possible to change the chosen doctor by choosing a new doctor in the same or another medical institution.

You cannot choose a doctor if:

• The maximum number of patients served by that doctor and the number of residents they specified have been reached.
• The documents submitted by the resident do not meet the requirements.
• Due to the distance between the medical institution and the resident's permanent place of residence (except for the attached obstetrical and gynecological points), the doctor cannot perform home visits and conduct anti-epidemic surveillance.

• A citizen of the Republic of Armenia presents a passport and a social or identification card.
• For a child under 16 years of age, an identity document or birth certificate and a social card are presented.
• In case of belonging to a socially vulnerable or special group, a document confirming this status is also presented.
• Foreigners and stateless persons residing in the Republic of Armenia present an identity document to register with a doctor of their choice.

Both children and adults should be vaccinated.

• A child’s vaccinations begin from the very first days of life, in accordance with the National Vaccination Calendar.
• Adult vaccinations are carried out based on the epidemiological situation.

Preventive vaccinations are carried out on epidemiological indications to citizens of the Republic of Armenia, foreign citizens residing in the Republic of Armenia, or stateless persons, regardless of their registration in the Republic of Armenia.

Preventive vaccinations are free of charge and are carried out with vaccines purchased by the state.

If you decide to travel, keep in mind that some countries may require vaccinations, which are provided on a paid basis.

Only yellow fever vaccination is mandatory worldwide. For this, an “International Certificate of Vaccination or Prevention” must be issued, stating that the person has been vaccinated against yellow fever. Vaccination is also required when entering some African and Latin American countries. The vaccination must be received at least 10 days before departure.

Those traveling to India are advised to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and typhoid. Those traveling to European countries are recommended to be vaccinated against measles and rubella. Those traveling to Afghanistan or Pakistan are recommended to be vaccinated against polio.

In Armenia, the following preventive examinations (screenings) are carried out free of charge among the population:

• Blood pressure measurement for the early detection of hypertension (high blood pressure).
• Glucometry for the early detection of diabetes.
• Breast examination for the early detection of cancer (mammography appointment according to medical indications).
• PAP smear examination for the early detection of cervical cancer.
• Visual acuity determination in people aged 40 and older with a hereditary history of glaucoma for the early detection of glaucoma.
• Body mass index determination for the early detection of weight disorders and prevention of non-communicable diseases.

Another type of preventive examination is the annual preventive medical examination, which is carried out for the population with health insurance or served by a social package. Moreover, in the case of a social package, this examination is a mandatory condition for obtaining the opportunity to use the other components of the package.

Preventive examinations (screenings) of children are aimed at timely diagnosis and treatment of hereditary diseases. They are carried out to detect the following diseases:

• Congenital hypothyroidism
• Phenylketonuria
• Congenital hearing impairment
• Retinopathy of prematurity
• Congenital heart defects
• Congenital hip dysplasia

Every child has the right to receive free and preferential medical care at the expense of state budget funds. 

Children who have reached the age of 18 have the right to give written consent to receive or refuse medical intervention.

Every person (his or her legal representative) has the right to refuse medical intervention in writing or to demand its interruption.

The fact of refusal of medical intervention, with an indication of the possible consequences, is recorded in his or her medical records.

Yes. Medical care and services are provided without the consent of the patient or his/her legal representative:

• In case of life-threatening danger
• In case of diseases dangerous to the environment

When receiving medical care, everyone is obliged to:

• Provide the medical professional with complete information about their health, and in the case of a disease that threatens their surroundings, also about people they have come into contact with, and about medical care they have previously received.
• Observe the treatment regimen prescribed by the medical professional.
• Respect the rights of other patients and medical professionals.

In Armenia, when providing medical care and services, the use of new drugs, methods, means, and the conduct of biomedical research are permitted, the procedure for which is established by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.

Research and experiments intended for the treatment of people may be conducted only with their written consent.

Everyone has the right to refuse to participate in research or testing.

No. Euthanasia is prohibited in Armenia, i.e., the acceleration of a patient's death by any action, omission, or means at their request. Those who knowingly induce a patient to undergo Euthanasia or carry it out are subject to legal liability.