referenciação
Published 8 November 2026, 20:08
referenciação (referral of a patient within the health system)
Formally passing a patient on within the system: from a health centre to a hospital, or from the SNS 24 line to a particular emergency department. You get a text message with the address and opening hours. It is not an appointment but a referral: no time has been booked for you.
Where you come across it. A call to SNS 24, a referral to a specialist, your care being transferred to a hospital.
With a referral from the SNS 24 line you do not pay the A&E fee, and you are put in a different queue in the emergency department. If you go to A&E on your own initiative without one, you have to pay.
Official website: sns24.gov.pt/servico/referenciacoes