Antidepressant prescription renewal in Spain: your follow-up plan

Yes, an online GP in Spain can review your anxiety or depression treatment by video. Where clinically appropriate, an antidepressant can be continued with a private electronic prescription. Renewal is never automatic: it follows a genuine assessment of how you are doing. Benzodiazepines, sleeping tablets and other controlled medicines are not prescribed by video. A crisis needs 024 or 112.

Can an online GP renew an antidepressant prescription in Spain?

Yes, when the assessment supports it. A GP licensed in Spain can review an established antidepressant by video. Where clinically appropriate, a private electronic prescription is issued, and any Spanish pharmacy can dispense it.

Antidepressants are not medicines to stop or restart casually. A gap of a few days can bring back symptoms that took months to settle. Stopping some antidepressants abruptly also causes withdrawal effects, as the NHS explains. So book early: with a week of tablets left, not one day.

In the visit, the doctor reviews which medicine you take and at what dose (read from the box), how long you have taken it, and who prescribed it. Side effects, mood and sleep over recent weeks, other medicines, alcohol, pregnancy and breastfeeding matter too. The visit is an assessment, not a form-signing exercise. Treatment and prescriptions are issued solely at the doctor's discretion, where clinically appropriate, following a genuine evaluation. If video care is not right for you, the visit ends with a clear next step instead: an in-person review or a psychiatry referral.

Prescriptions are private electronic prescriptions under Spanish law, dispensed in Spanish pharmacies and paid in full at the counter. Brand names differ between countries: check the Spanish equivalent in CIMA, the AEMPS medicines database, or in our guide to medicines in Spain. Itemised invoices are included. Cancel at least 24 hours in advance.

Which medicines are not prescribed by video?

Benzodiazepines (for example lorazepam, diazepam or alprazolam), sleeping tablets such as zolpidem, opioids and stimulants are not prescribed by video. These are controlled medicines in Spain. They need in-person care with a prescriber who can examine you and follow you closely.

If you take one of these alongside an antidepressant, say so at the start. The GP can still review the antidepressant and tell you where to go for the rest. Never stop a benzodiazepine suddenly on your own: abrupt withdrawal can be dangerous. Discuss any change with the prescriber who sees you in person. Our guide to controlled medicines and online GP limits in Spain explains the rules. Sleep problems themselves can be discussed by video, including non-drug approaches; see our insomnia page.

How should you prepare a follow-up visit for anxiety or depression?

Bring three things: your latest care plan or clinic letter, your medicine list copied from the packaging, and a short note of what has changed. You do not need a perfect medical file. Gaps are things to explain, not hide.

Gather your records

• Your latest care plan and relevant consultation letters, originals alongside any translated summary.
• A one-page summary: why you need follow-up, who treats you now, your questions, and the date of each previous review.
• Current medicines exactly as shown on the packaging, with who last prescribed each one.
• Your previous clinician's contact details, and a note of what you still need to check.

Describe what has changed

A few lines in your own words. Concrete examples ("I have not slept through the night for three weeks") work better than "I feel worse". Note when each change started, how daily life is affected, and anything you find hard to say aloud. If you cannot remember an exact date, say so.

Choose three priority questions

Useful ones: What can the GP review today? Is a local exam or specialist assessment needed? Who oversees my ongoing care? How does my usual clinician receive updates? What do I do if things change before the next review? If you are in Spain temporarily, give your departure date and say where care continues afterwards.

Choose a private setting

A quiet place where nobody can overhear, a tested camera and connection, and your notes within reach. Tell the doctor if you want a trusted person present, or if you cannot speak freely where you are staying.

Agree who does what, and confirm the next contact

Separate the GP's role from your existing clinician's role and from any local service. Before the visit ends, write down the review date or review condition, who makes contact, and how to raise a non-emergency question in between. Keep two routes: the routine one and the emergency one (024 and 112). A message channel must never become your plan for immediate danger.

Keep records in one place afterwards

Label documents with the visit date. Keep the doctor's written instructions separate from your own notes, and ask if they differ. Share records only through the route the practice gives you.

Which situation are you in?

Your situation	What the visit focuses on	What to bring
Stable on an antidepressant, living in Spain	Follow-up review: how you are doing, whether to continue	Last prescription or box, dates of previous reviews
Newly arrived, no Spanish medical file	Fuller history first; the first visit takes longer	Treatment summary from your previous clinician, medicine list
Tourist or digital nomad, supply running out mid-trip	Assessment of a short continuation while you are in Spain	Home prescription, departure date, where care continues
Retiree with other long-term conditions	The whole picture: mood, other medicines, interactions	Full medicine list, recent blood test results

How do you transfer mental health treatment records from abroad?

Ask your previous provider for a treatment summary and the relevant letters. Then confirm with the receiving clinician how to send them securely. Repeating a personal history in another language is exhausting; good paperwork means you do not have to explain everything at once.

1. Identify the recipient. Is it a GP, psychiatrist, psychologist or another service? Confirm who will read them.
2. Request the records. Ask the records team or treating clinician for a treatment summary, not a new opinion written for an unfamiliar service.
3. Check the contents. The documents must be yours, show the issuing provider and carry dates. Flag missing pages, unreadable scans or conflicting information.
4. Confirm the language. An English-speaking clinician does not mean every administrative office accepts English documents. Ask before you pay for a translation.
5. Send securely. Follow the receiving service's agreed route and ask how to confirm receipt. A successful upload does not mean a clinician has reviewed your care.

Document	Best for	Check	Limit
Treatment summary	Giving the new clinician an overview	Author, date, history, current plan, follow-up	Can leave out details a specific decision needs
Consultation letters	Showing the reasoning at particular visits	Complete pages, dates, issuing clinician	Older letters do not describe your current state
Current medication record	Describing the treatment on record	Medicine, instructions, date, prescriber	Does not guarantee a new prescription in Spain
Full record copy	Background when the recipient asks for it	Readability, completeness, order	Can contain unrelated, highly sensitive material
Your own timeline	Explaining changes and open questions	Clear dates where known, uncertainty where not	Not a clinician's report

In your request, say you are in Spain and name the period to cover. Say whether records should come to you or go directly to a named clinician. If several providers were involved (GP, hospital, private therapist), ask each one what it holds. Never relabel an older report as current.

You can attend a visit before every record arrives: say what is missing and let the doctor decide whether it is enough. For privacy, confirm the upload destination with the service, keep an unchanged copy of each original, and use filenames that do not expose personal details. Never send passwords with attachments. Save confirmation of what you sent and when.

Where do psychotherapy and specialist care fit in Spain?

In Spain the public route to psychology and psychiatry starts at your centro de salud. The family doctor refers you to the local mental health unit. Private psychologists and psychiatrists can be booked directly, and many consult in English. A video GP can help you choose the route and summarise what has been tried, but does not replace a specialist.

Talking therapy is a first-line treatment for many people with anxiety or depression, alone or with medicine, as MedlinePlus describes. With a tarjeta sanitaria the public route costs nothing, but waiting times vary by region. If you already have a psychiatrist abroad, say so and ask which clinician is responsible for each part of your care. Our depression page explains what a GP can manage by video.

Which option fits your next step?

Option	Best for	Key limitation
Video GP visit (€50, 15 min)	Reviewing an established treatment and agreeing next steps	Not emergency care; an exam or specialist may still be needed
Local in-person GP	Anything that needs a physical exam, or controlled medicines	Travel and registration with the local service
Your existing clinician abroad	Keeping an established relationship	Being abroad does not create availability in Spain
Local specialist (psychiatry, psychology)	Diagnosis, complex treatment, therapy	A GP visit does not replace the specialist assessment
024 or 112	Anyone in immediate danger or unable to stay safe	Not a substitute for planned follow-up

Which mistakes are easy to avoid?

• Treating an old plan as an automatic renewal. It is evidence of past care, not a promise of the next decision.
• Leaving your departure date out. A short stay and a long-term move need different handovers.
• Asking for paperwork before explaining the concern. Health first; any certificate need separately.
• Booking with one day of medicine left. A week's buffer protects you if remote care does not fit.
• Using auto-refill websites or apps that promise a prescription up front. A guarantee before any assessment is marketing, not medicine.

Emergencies

A video visit is for urgent, non-emergency care. Call 112 (or 061, the medical emergency number in several regions) or go to the nearest emergency department if you have harmed yourself or taken an overdose. The same applies if you cannot keep yourself safe, or someone with you is severely agitated or confused. A seizure after stopping a benzodiazepine is also a 112 call.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call 024, the Ministerio de Sanidad's free and confidential suicide prevention line. It is available around the clock in Spain (official 024 information). You do not need to be in crisis to call. See our guide to emergency numbers in Spain.

Frequently asked questions