Seeing a doctor in France: Doctolib, your médecin traitant & teleconsultation
Getting into the French health system is one job; actually getting an appointment is another — and it's where newcomers most often feel at sea. The good news is that France has made booking a doctor genuinely easy, mostly through one app everyone uses, and there are real fallbacks when you can't get seen. Here's how to find a doctor, book one, declare your GP so you're properly reimbursed, and get help fast — in English — when you need it.
The short version
- Doctolib is the platform — set up an account; it's how you book GPs, specialists, dentists and vaccinations, and you can filter for English-speaking doctors.
- Declare a médecin traitant (your named GP) early — it coordinates your care, and without one your reimbursement drops from ~70% to ~30%.
- Teleconsultation is a real fallback — Qare, Livi or Doctolib connect you to a doctor by video, often within the hour, reimbursed like a normal visit.
- Some specialists you can see directly — gynae, eye specialists, dentists and paediatricians, with no referral needed.
- Your carte Vitale + mutuelle make care effectively free at the point of use — keep them current.
- Urgent? SOS Médecins, 116 117 out-of-hours, and 15 (SAMU) or 112 for emergencies.
Ask a British person who's settled in France what unlocked the health system for them, and you'll usually get a one-word answer: Doctolib. Once you're enrolled and holding a carte Vitale (our healthcare guide covers that), the day-to-day reality of French medicine is refreshingly modern — you book most things yourself, online, often seeing more availability than you'd get chasing a UK surgery by phone at 8am. The two things worth getting right early are picking your regular GP (your médecin traitant) so you're properly reimbursed, and knowing the fallbacks for when an appointment just isn't there. Let's take finding and booking first, then the system rules that protect your wallet.
Finding and booking a doctor
Most of it runs through one app, with real human fallbacks behind it. Open each.
Start hereDoctolib — the platform you'll live on
Doctolib is how most of France books medical appointments — GPs, specialists, dentists, even vaccinations — online or in its app, free to use. You search by speciality and area, see real availability, and book in a couple of taps. Crucially for newcomers, you can often filter or search for English-speaking practitioners, and many profiles list languages spoken. It also powers video teleconsultations (see below). Set up an account early — it's the single most useful health tool you'll have.
You're not stuckFinding an English-speaking doctor
You don't need fluent French to get good care, especially early on. Beyond Doctolib's language filters, your mairie, local expat groups and our own community are gold for recommendations, and many towns with a British population have well-known English-speaking GPs and dentists. It's perfectly fine to prioritise a doctor you can talk to comfortably while your French finds its feet.
Qare · Livi · DoctolibTeleconsultation — a doctor by video
Can't get a face-to-face slot, or just need a prescription or sick note? Teleconsultation (téléconsultation) connects you to a real doctor by video, often within the hour, evenings and weekends included. Doctolib offers it, and dedicated services like Qare and Livi specialise in it. It's reimbursed like a normal consultation when done properly through the system, and a genuine lifeline in a désert médical or when you're new and unregistered.
The thing that surprises Britons most
You book the specialist yourself — often within days
Coming from a system where seeing a consultant means a GP referral and a long wait, many British arrivals are astonished that in France you can open Doctolib, find a dermatologist or a cardiologist, and book a slot yourself — sometimes for the same week. The catch is the reimbursement rules (see below): for most specialists you'll want your médecin traitant's referral to be reimbursed in full. But the sheer access — the ability to get seen quickly, in your own language if you choose — is one of the quiet joys of French healthcare, and a world away from what you may be used to.
A mutuelle is what makes it feel free
The state covers most of a doctor's visit; a good mutuelle (top-up health cover) mops up the rest — the specialist excess, the dental, the optical — so care is effectively free at the point of use. If you're not yet covered, or paying too much, it's worth comparing.
Compare mutuelle cover →Pimpernel may earn a small commission if you use this — it never changes what we recommend, and there's nothing to sell you.
The system rules that protect your wallet
France reimburses generously — but on the condition you play it by the rules. Open each.
Protects your reimbursementDeclare a médecin traitant — do this early
France runs on the parcours de soins coordonné: you name a médecin traitant (your regular GP) who coordinates your care and refers you onward. Declare them via your Ameli account or a simple form at the appointment. It matters for your wallet: go outside this path and reimbursement drops sharply (often from 70% to 30%). Finding a GP taking new patients can take persistence in some areas — start looking sooner than you think you need to.
Gynae · eyes · dentist · kidsWho you can see directly (no referral)
A few specialists sit outside the referral rule and can be booked directly with full reimbursement: gynaecologists, ophthalmologists (eye specialists), dentists, and paediatricians for children. For most others — dermatologists, cardiologists and so on — see your médecin traitant first for the referral, or accept the lower reimbursement.
Carte Vitale + mutuelleWhat it costs, and getting reimbursed
A standard GP visit has a set fee (a secteur 1 doctor charges the regulated rate; secteur 2 can charge more). You pay, then your carte Vitale triggers the state reimbursement automatically, with your mutuelle topping up the rest — often so the visit is effectively free at point of use once tiers payantThe arrangement where you don't pay upfront — the state and your mutuelle settle directly. applies. Keep your carte Vitale updated and your Ameli details current so the money flows without chasing.
Struggling to get registered or find a doctor?
Declaring a médecin traitant, getting onto Doctolib, tracking down an English-speaking GP in a stretched area — it can be a slog when you're new. Pimpernel can point you to the right steps and to English-speaking practitioners near you, so you're not facing a health worry and a language barrier at once.
When you need help fast
You won't always be able to book ahead, and it helps to know the map before you need it. For something that can't wait for a normal appointment but isn't an emergency, a teleconsultation (Qare, Livi or Doctolib) will often get you a doctor and a prescription by video within the hour. SOS Médecins will send a doctor to your home in many areas. Your pharmacy is an under-used first port of call — French pharmacists are highly trained and can advise on, and often treat, minor ailments without an appointment, and there's always a pharmacie de garde on duty out of hours. For out-of-hours medical advice, 116 117 is the number. And for a genuine emergency, 15 reaches the SAMU (medical emergencies) and 112 is the pan-European emergency line. Save these now; you'll be glad they're already in your phone.
The health admin that's easy to let slip
Registering a médecin traitant, keeping the carte Vitale updated, the annual check-ups, the kids' vaccination schedule, your mutuelle renewal. Pimpernel Pro keeps the health side on a dated plan so nothing lapses — and points you to teleconsultation and English-speaking help when you need it fast.
- Health-admin reminders
- The healthcare wizard
- English-speaking doctor pointers
- Every Library guide, in depth
Not enrolled yet?
All of this runs on being in the system with a carte Vitale. Our guide covers CPAM, PUMAProtection universelle maladie — the scheme that gives legal residents access to French state healthcare. and getting your cover switched on.
Read: getting into French healthcare →Teeth, eyes and ears
Dentists and eye specialists you can book directly. Our guide covers dental, optical and the 100% Santé scheme.
Read: dental, optical & hearing in France →Straight from the source
Book almost any practitioner on doctolib.fr, find registered doctors and declare your médecin traitant via ameli.fr, and read the parcours de soins rules on service-public.fr.
The platforms, numbers, reimbursement rates and rules here are current for 2026 and drawn from official and everyday sources, but they vary by your cover, your doctor's sector, and your area, and services change. Pimpernel are not medical professionals. For anything clinical, consult a doctor; in an emergency call 15 or 112. This guide is general, practical information about navigating the system.