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In this guide, you will find all the information on maintaining your health and organizing medical care in the Republic of Armenia. You will learn about medical care organizations in Armenia, the polyclinic system, electronic prescriptions, emergency medical services, health insurance, and state support programs in this area.
In the Republic of Armenia, an online electronic prescription system (ARMED) operates. Under this system, the doctor prescribes the necessary medicines through an electronic prescription.
Explore health monitoring options in Armenia. You can register at a polyclinic (local healthcare center) or consider other specialized medical services.
If you suddenly need a doctor, call an ambulance. If you can wait, or if you are seeking a preventive examination, make an appointment with your physician. They will examine you and, if necessary, refer you for further tests.
Follow your doctor's advice and take your prescribed medications as directed. Remember that ongoing health monitoring is necessary even after treatment is complete.
In Armenia, healthcare for the population is organized into the following types:
You can receive medical care:
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:
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.
The state organizes medical care within the framework of the state order, offering services free of charge or with preferential co-payments. This is achieved through cooperation with medical institutions or insurance companies, guided by the annual state health target programs.
In-hospital medical care is free of charge in the following cases:
Out-hospital medical care is free of charge in the following cases:
Co-payments may not be required from the following population groups:
In this case, the following are provided:
Co-payment is the portion of the cost of medical services that the patient pays when receiving treatment under a preferential program.
The following services are provided with a co-payment:
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:
If you or someone close to you needs immediate medical attention, call "103" from any mobile or landline. If it doesn't work, call "112" or "911", which will immediately connect you to the emergency services. If possible, you can also go straight to the emergency room of a hospital.
When calling 911, English-speaking operators are available; however, operators for other emergency numbers may not be English speakers.
The ambulance call and service are free for everyone.
Attention
If you are unsure whether or not you need to see a doctor in a given case, be sure to call an ambulance, as life can often be at risk even without dangerous symptoms.
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:
If you or someone close to you needs immediate medical attention, call "103" from any mobile or landline. If it doesn't work, call "112" or "911", which will immediately connect you to the emergency services. If possible, you can also go straight to the emergency room of a hospital. When calling 911, English-speaking operators are available; however, operators for other emergency numbers may not be English speakers.
In order for your call to be registered quickly and the ambulance to arrive quickly:
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:
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.
The patient's passport must be presented, regardless of whether the patient is being transported to the hospital or examined at home.
If the victim is a child, it is necessary to present:
During the call, the patient or one of his relatives fills out and signs a call sheet; in the case of transfer to the hospital, the receptionist or the doctor on duty also signs it.
Emergency medical care is provided in cases of sudden worsening of acute or chronic illnesses that do not present with immediately life-threatening signs.
It is delivered in the emergency department of a healthcare facility, considering the patient's medical condition. Patients requiring urgent medical care for up to 24 hours are referred to the emergency department.
A patient may remain in the emergency department for up to 24 hours. Following this period, they are either admitted to the hospital or discharged.
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:
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.
Polyclinics (local healthcare centers), rural outpatient facilities, and obstetric centers provide health monitoring and disease prevention functions (primary healthcare). You can receive these services at a medical facility of your choice from a physician of your choice who serves as your primary healthcare physician (PHC).
Individuals with the following residency statuses can register at the polyclinic and select a doctor:
All residents of the Republic of Armenia can register at the polyclinic and choose a doctor. In this case, the following are considered “residents” of 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.
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.
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:
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.
Vaccination involves administering a specific dose of a vaccine to induce immunity (resistance) in a person's body against infectious diseases. This protects them from the disease and ensures a milder course of illness if they contract it.
Both children and adults should be vaccinated.
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:
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:
By getting health insurance, you will be able to receive proper medical care in unforeseen or emergency situations, avoiding large expenses.
You can choose from the following types of insurance:
Before getting health insurance:
Study the services the insurance company reimburses, as different packages are often offered.
Find out when the insurance contract becomes effective
Find out how and when reimbursements are made
Find out if you can also insure your family members and the length of their waiting periods
You can apply for a doctor's appointment with insurance in person or through an insurance company.
To apply through an insurance company, you need to:
You can also apply to a medical facility without calling the insurance company
Usually, it is required to send the documents for reimbursement of expenses to the insurance company's email address.
A doctor's prescription is required for certain drugs (e.g., antibiotics). Armenia has recently transitioned to an electronic prescription system. Under this system, doctors no longer issue paper prescriptions; instead, prescriptions are entered into the ARMED medical system and can be retrieved from any pharmacy by presenting an identity document.
An electronic prescription is the electronic prescription and approval of medications by a doctor through the ARMED e-health system.
The approved prescription is available online both in the patient's ARMED system (mobile application) and in the system of any pharmacy registered in the Republic of Armenia.
Medicines are prescribed by electronic prescription if they:
A more detailed list of these medicines can be found in the RA Government Resolution No. 1080-N of 2019.
The patient or their authorized representative (with written consent from the patient) can go to the pharmacy and receive the medication without any additional paperwork.
If the authorized representative continues to purchase the medication in the future, the doctor enters their name into the electronic system.
To obtain a medicine prescribed by an electronic prescription, citizens or a person authorized by them can approach any pharmacy and present any identification document:
Depending on the type of electronic prescription, you can obtain the medication:
You can obtain the entire amount of medication needed for the entire course of treatment at once or in parts.
No. No prescriptions are issued indefinitely since any disease, whether acute, chronic, or exacerbation of a chronic one, must be monitored by a doctor and subjected to dynamic monitoring.
There are diseases where long-term medication is prescribed, and a multiple-release prescription is issued for 180 days at once.
A doctor can prescribe medication for 180 days but issue a prescription every 30 days to monitor the patient’s health.
Emergency or symptomatic treatment medications are not prescribed by prescription.
Medications prescribed by electronic prescription are those prescribed exclusively after diagnosis and necessary examination.
For example, in the case of bronchitis or tonsillitis, antibiotics are prescribed only after examination when the doctor is convinced that the diagnosis is bacterial and prescribes antibiotics.
Yes. It is possible. For this, the patient's personal data is entered, the system checks the availability of the prescription, the pharmacist activates the prescription, and writes out the medication to be delivered.
Every person receiving medical care has the right to be informed about their health status, diagnosis of the disease, the results of the medical care provided, and the risks. Moreover, in the case of a person recognized as incompetent, this information is provided to the person if, in the opinion of the doctor, they are able to assess their health status.
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:
When receiving medical care, everyone is obliged to:
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.
When addressing various health concerns, you can explore state support programs established in this area. These programs aim to enhance accessibility to health monitoring and medical care for specific population groups.
