médico assistente
Published 6 November 2026, 09:07
médico assistente (attending doctor; at a health centre, the doctor who looks after a patient in place of a permanent family doctor)
If you have no permanent family doctor, a doctor still has to look after you — whoever is available or on duty (médico em regime de recurso). They see you and write prescriptions and sick notes. Insurers use the same term for "your" doctor in their private network.
Where you come across it. An appointment at a health centre when you have no family doctor of your own; your insurance company's app.
This doctor changes from visit to visit, and you have to go through your medical history all over again. They do not replace a permanent doctor: routine monitoring and some referrals go only through the doctor you are registered with.
Official website: sns.gov.pt/institucional/unidades-de-saude