Medicines and reimbursement for medicine expenses in Finland

Medication is part of the healthcare service. Medicines administered in hospital or other care establishments are part of the treatment and are covered by the client fee. The costs of your medication are not charged separately if you live in Finland or if you are entitled to healthcare in Finland. Read more on the page Right to healthcare services in Finland.

You have to get the medicines you use outside of hospital from the pharmacy yourself. The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) reimburses medicine expenses for people living in Finland with health insurance. You can also be reimbursed for your medicine expenses if you are entitled to healthcare in Finland under EU legislation or an international agreement. Read more on the website EU-healthcare.fi.

Kela reimburses expenses for medicines, clinical nutritional products and basic creams prescribed for the treatment of illness to persons living in Finland with health insurance. In certain situations reimbursement can also be paid on the basis of EU rules or international agreements.

Medicines can often be reimbursed directly at the pharmacy. Reimbursement of medicine expenses is subject to an initial deductible of 50 euros per calendar year as well as an annual maximum limit on out-of-pocket costs. Read more on the website EU-healthcare.fi and Kela’s website.

You can purchase medication with a prescription issued in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland from a Finnish pharmacy if the medication in question is licensed for sale in Finland. The prescription must contain certain basic details, which you can check on the EU-healthcare.fi website.

Electronic prescriptions do not work between the Nordic countries, but preparations are underway to introduce the service.

Between EU and EEA countries, you can export and import prescription and over-the-counter products for your own personal use up to the equivalent of one year’s use. You may have to prove that the medicine has been prescribed for your personal use. You can prove this, for example, with the label on the medicine package, a prescription or a doctor's certificate. Read more on the website of the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea and the website of the destination country’s customs regulations.

If your order medicines by post to Finland, the maximum amount of medicines you can receive is the equivalent of three months’ use. Read more on Fimea’s website.