Four different health care sectors
- Finnish Student Health Service (for the Master’s and Bachelor’s degree students only, not for exchange students)
- Public Health Care
- Private Health Care
- Occupational Health Care
Finnish student health service, FSHS
- Offers preventive health care, medical care, mental health care and dental care (NOT emergency health care).
- Available for the students in Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes who have paid the Student Union fee.
- NOT available for exchange students starting from 1 Jan 2021.
- NOT available for the PhD students.
A video on FSHS: Finnish Student Health Service (3:10)
Finnish Student Health Service (opens in a new tab) (Ylioppilaiden terveydenhuoltosäätiö, YTHS) provides all Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students of the University of Eastern Finland, with preventive health care, medical care, mental health care, and dental care. Please note that FSHS offers NO emergency or hospital treatments, nor maternity care. The services of FSHS are limited and only available during the opening hours. In case of an emergency, for example, you will need other health care services. FSHS runs health centres in 16 university towns and the student can have treatment at any of the centres.
Student Health Care Fee
Please note that FSHS provides health services only for degree students (not available for exchange students) who have paid the health care fee to KELA. Further information on the health care fee from KELA’s website: https://www.kela.fi/healthcare-fee-for-students-in-higher-education (opens in a new tab).
Booking an appointment with FSHS
The consultation fees for students at FSHS are very reasonable and services like consultation with a nurse or a general practitioner are free of charge.
Please note that if you are given a referral to Public Health Care, for example to the North Karelia Central Hospital or the Kuopio University Hospital, you will be charged the valid fees and you will not get any student reductions.
You should make an appointment for each visit to FSHS. If you are unable to keep the appointment, remember to cancel it no later than the day before in order to avoid any fees. The nurses, however, are available for consultation every morning without an appointment. For dental care you should be prepared to wait even up to a month for an appointment. Only in the case of an acute toothache it is possible to provide you with treatment during the same day.
Students who are not members of the Student Union are advised to use the public or private health services.
Public health care in Finland
If you are an EU citizen and not a member of the Student Union or an exchange student, and therefore not entitled to student health care, you can use municipal health care. Please note that you should have your European Health Insurance Card or proof of health insurance available when booking and having a consultation with a General Practitioner (GP). Consultation is subject to fees.
- Available for all the EU/EEA citizens with the European Health Insurance Card (opens in a new tab) under the same conditions as for the local residents.
- Available for the non-EU/EEA citizens if they have a place of residence (opens in a new tab) in Finland.
- Available for the citizens of the countries Finland has a social security agreement (opens in a new tab) with.
- eHealth service (opens in a new tab)
- Public Health Care in Joensuu (opens in a new tab)
- Public Heath Care in Kuopio (opens in a new tab)
Making an appointment at a health care centre in Joensuu.
Making an appointment at a health care centre in Kuopio.
Private health care
Available for everybody who can afford to pay more expensive fees than in the public health care. If you have a private insurance, you might be able to cover the cost from your insurance.
Occupational health care (for uef staff)
Available for the UEF staff members. Further information in Guide for International Staff (opens in a new tab).
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EU citizens
Before arriving in Finland all EU citizens are advised to obtain European Health Insurance Card (opens in a new tab) from their home country and always carry it with them. This card entitles everybody to treatments at the same price as Finns in case of sudden illness or accident. If you do not have the card, please ask your own health insurance office to send it to you. Finland also has social security agreements related to health care with some other countries but we advise you to carefully check the coverage of the insurance agreement and conditions on which benefits are available at your own health insurance office before arriving in Finland.
Please note that in addition to the European Health Insurance Card you will need a travel insurance because the EHIC covers the costs only in Finland and only under the same conditions as for the local people. So if you travel outside Finland or need a transportation back home when ill, it will not cover those costs.
Non-EU citizens
Non-EU/EEA citizens are advised to take a private health insurance with sufficient coverage which is a prerequisite for getting the residence permit for Finland. Further information on student insurance (opens a new tab).
Medical history and prescriptions
Please note that you should take your prescriptions with you if you have an illness that requires regular medical treatment. It is also recommended that you bring your medical history, translated into English, with you. No vaccinations are required for registration at the University of Eastern Finland.