Online doctor consultation in Spain: how it works

An online doctor consultation in Spain is a private video visit with a GP licensed in Spain. You choose a time in the live calendar, join a secure call from a private place, and leave with a clear plan. It is for urgent, non-emergency problems. Dr. Pedro Yelamo Vera consults in English or Spanish, every day from 07:30 to 20:30, Spain time.

How does an online doctor consultation in Spain work?

You book, join a video call and agree a plan. Five steps:

1. Choose an available time in the live calendar. The fee is shown before you book; tests and medicines are separate.
2. Confirm the booking and receive the video link.
3. Prepare your medicines, documents and questions (checklist below).
4. Join the secure video call from a private place. Dr. Yelamo asks about your symptoms and history, may ask you to show the affected area on camera, and reviews any photos or reports. You can speak English or Spanish.
5. Agree a clear next step: self-care advice, a follow-up, a test or an in-person visit. A prescription or certificate may be considered where appropriate.

A video visit is a real medical consultation, with the same professional duties as in a clinic. The one difference is that the doctor cannot examine you by touch. Adults, children (with a parent present) and pregnant patients can be seen.

What should you prepare before the video visit?

Set aside 10 to 15 minutes and gather:

• A valid photo ID (passport, national ID card or residence document).
• Your current medicines: name, strength and how often you take each one, plus over-the-counter products, supplements and herbal remedies. Keep the boxes, including anything bought in a Spanish pharmacy.
• Allergies and previous reactions to medicines, including what happened.
• Relevant documents only: a recent blood test, discharge letter, imaging report or specialist note, in the original language.
• A charged device with camera, microphone and a stable connection, headphones, and pen and paper for the plan.

Five small steps that make the call count

1. Write your reason in one sentence. "A cough that began four days ago." Do not start with every health issue of the past year.
2. Make a three-point timeline. When it began, how it changed, what makes it better or worse. Rate pain from 0 to 10. For a skin problem, photograph it in natural light before the call.
3. Do not guess a medicine name or strength; show the box. One or two relevant pages beat a folder of unrelated records.
4. Set up a private, well-lit call. Light in front of you, camera steady, device plugged in, other apps closed, link tested early. Agree beforehand whether a companion stays in the room.
5. Write down your questions and confirm the plan before the call ends. Repeat it in your own words and ask how and when any prescription, certificate or referral would reach you.

What if something goes wrong on the day?

• The link does not open or the camera fails. Try a current browser and allow camera and microphone access in your settings. Work devices can block them; use a personal device if you can.
• You cannot find a previous prescription. Photograph the box and note the name, strength, quantity and issuing country.
• Your documents are in another language. Keep the original and summarise the date, test or diagnosis.
• You feel much worse while waiting. Call 112.

Is an online doctor consultation in Spain private?

Yes. The consultation is confidential, and health data is a specially protected category under the GDPR and Spain's data protection law (LOPDGDD). Spanish patient law (Ley 41/2002) adds the duty of confidentiality and your right to access your record. Confidential does not mean anonymous: the doctor must verify your identity and keep a record, and erasure is not an absolute right because some records must be kept by law.

Six privacy questions to ask before booking (no symptoms needed)

• Who is responsible for my information, and how do I contact them?
• Who can access my records: doctor, staff, service providers?
• Is the consultation recorded? Ask separately about audio, video, transcripts and automated note-taking. Notes are not a recording. If you want to record it yourself, ask first.
• How should I send documents? Ask for the approved route before emailing a passport image or test result.
• How will you contact me? Which email or phone receives reminders and documents.
• How long are records kept, and how do I request access or correction?

The privacy notice should cover the purpose of each piece of data, recipients, service providers, any transfer outside Spain and its safeguards, retention and your rights. Ask for any unclear clause in plain English.

Where should you take the call?

Somewhere nobody can overhear you. Headphones hide the doctor's voice, not your answers.

Setting	Best for	Advantage	Check
Private room at home	Residents and expats	You control who enters	Open doors carry sound
Hotel room	Tourists	Away from public areas	Travelling companions, interruptions
Enclosed room in a shared workspace	Remote workers and digital nomads	Separate from the open-plan area	Whether voices carry outside

Close unrelated tabs and silence notifications before joining. If you have no suitable space, say so before the appointment rather than talking from a café.

How to send medical documents safely

1. Confirm the channel. Use the route given for this booking, not an old thread. If an unexpected message asks for records another way, check with the practice.
2. Select relevant records. Do not remove clinically relevant pages, and say if a document contains someone else's details.
3. Check the recipient for a wrong contact, reply-all chain or misattached file.
4. Keep your copy. On a borrowed device, delete downloads and sign out; appointment previews can show on a shared screen.

Will your employer, insurer or travelling companion see your information? Not because they helped you book. A companion present during the call is different from permission to receive documents afterwards. If you need a report for an insurer, employer or university, tell the doctor its purpose and ask what it would contain.

Who is an online doctor consultation in Spain for?

Anyone with an urgent, non-emergency problem they can describe on camera. No Spanish health card or insurance is needed.

Expats and residents

A private video visit does not replace your family doctor at the centro de salud. It helps when you cannot get an appointment in time, want the conversation in English, or need help reading a report. Tell your regular doctor afterwards.

Tourists and holiday visitors

A video visit lets you explain what is wrong in English from your hotel room, without a clinic queue or a translator. Save 112 in your phone the day you land. The doctor can write a medical report for your insurer where appropriate, but cannot approve a claim; check your policy terms yourself.

Digital nomads and remote workers

Without a fixed doctor, a bilingual GP who can review results and follow a stable condition fills a real gap. Use a personal device, not an employer-managed one.

Cruise-day visitors

The same service applies during a day in a Spanish port. Any prescription is dispensed by a Spanish pharmacy, so plan pick-up before you sail.

What can a video visit do, and what can it not?

It works when the decision rests on what you describe and what the camera shows. It stops where a hands-on exam or an on-the-spot test is needed.

Concern	Suitable for video?	Why
Common infections (sore throat, sinusitis, urinary infection, pink eye), gastroenteritis in a stable adult	Yes	History and a visual check carry the decision
Skin problems visible on camera or in photos	Yes	Good light and a clear photo help
Stable chronic condition, blood results, medicine questions	Yes, case by case	Bring your medicine list and reports
Medical certificate or sick note	Assessment decides	Issued only where clinically appropriate
Severe abdominal pain, a wound that may need stitches	No	Needs hands-on examination
Anything needing an ECG or X-ray now	No	Needs in-person testing
Controlled medicines (benzodiazepines, sleeping tablets, opioids, stimulants)	No	Directed to in-person care
Emergencies	Never	Call 112

A farmacia helps with minor remedies but cannot diagnose; a clinic can examine you; a video visit gives a bilingual assessment without travel and tells you where to go if an exam is needed. More examples: what an online GP in Spain can and cannot treat.

How much does an online doctor consultation in Spain cost?

You see the full price before you pay; no hidden charges.

Consultation	Length	Price	What it covers
Urgent care video consultation	15 minutes	€50	Assessment and plan; prescription or certificate where appropriate
Medically guided weight management	30 minutes	€70	Weight and metabolic review, follow-up plan
Medical certificate	Within the consultation	€50	Assessed during the visit

Every visit includes an itemised invoice, useful for insurance claims. Medicines and tests are paid separately. Cancel at least 24 hours in advance. Details on the pricing page.

What happens after the consultation?

You leave knowing what to do today, what to watch, and when the plan must change.

Prescriptions

Where indicated, Dr. Yelamo issues a private electronic prescription under Spanish law, dispensed in Spanish pharmacies. Dispensing depends on the pharmacy and medicine availability, so do not plan a journey around an expected prescription. Controlled medicines are never prescribed by video; if you may need one, you are directed to in-person care. Treatment and prescriptions are issued solely at the doctor's discretion, where clinically appropriate, following a genuine evaluation. See the limits on controlled medicines.

Certificates and sick notes

Certificates are assessed within the €50 consultation. Describe what you need help with; a document, where appropriate, follows the assessment, never the reverse. The airline, employer or insurer receiving it decides whether to accept it. Neither issuance nor acceptance of a certificate is guaranteed.

Referral advice and follow-up

If you need an exam or a test, the doctor says so plainly and tells you where to go: your centro de salud, a private clinic or an emergency department. Online follow-up is short term.

Common myths about online doctors in Spain

• "A video call is always recorded." No. A consultation and a stored recording are different things.
• "Private means anonymous." No. Identity is verified and a confidential record kept.
• "Booking means a prescription." No. Prescribing follows the assessment, not the booking.
• "A video doctor can handle an emergency." Never. Call 112.

Emergencies

Call 112 (free, multilingual operators) or go to the nearest emergency department for chest pain or pressure, severe trouble breathing, sudden weakness or numbness on one side, a drooping face or slurred speech, heavy bleeding that does not stop, loss of consciousness or a seizure, a severe allergic reaction with swelling of the face or throat, or a sudden worst-ever headache (see MedlinePlus on stroke warning signs). In several regions 061 is the medical emergency number. Do not wait for a video appointment. For the grey zone, read when to go to the ER versus an online doctor in Spain.

Frequently asked questions