What Makes This Consultation Different
This is not a one-off consultation for an isolated symptom. A Family and General Medicine consultation is for patients who need:
- Ongoing management of one or more chronic conditions
- A doctor who reviews the full clinical history and builds a long-term care plan
- Continuity — the same clinical standard at every consultation, not a different doctor each time
- More time — to properly address complex or multi-system situations
If your concern is acute — a new symptom, a sudden illness, or a one-off question — our GP Consultation is more appropriate and more affordable. This service is for patients who need a regular doctor, not just an appointment.
What Your Consultation Includes
Comprehensive Clinical Assessment. Your doctor reviews your full clinical history, current conditions, medication, and general health status — building a complete clinical picture, not just the complaint that prompted the booking.
Chronic Disease Management. Structured follow-up and management of long-term conditions, including monitoring, adjusting treatment when clinically appropriate, and coordinating ongoing care.
Personalised Health Plan. Your doctor develops or updates a care plan tailored to your individual health profile, lifestyle, and long-term goals — including preventive care, recommended screenings, and specialist referrals when indicated.
Care Coordination. Whenever further tests or specialist support are needed, your doctor coordinates referrals, interprets results in context, and ensures continuity throughout your care pathway.
Clinical Documentation. Medical certificates, referral letters, and other clinical documentation, issued at the doctor's professional discretion, when clinically appropriate.
Conditions Commonly Managed
This service is particularly suited to:
- Hypertension and cardiovascular risk management
- Type 1 and type 2 diabetes — monitoring, management, and complication prevention
- Asthma and chronic respiratory conditions
- Thyroid disorders — hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, ongoing monitoring
- High cholesterol and metabolic syndrome
- Chronic musculoskeletal conditions — arthritis, chronic lower back pain, joint disease
- Digestive disorders — irritable bowel syndrome, reflux, inflammatory bowel disease
- Mental health — anxiety, depression, and stress management, with ongoing follow-up
- Chronic skin conditions — eczema, psoriasis, acne under continued treatment
- Women's health — hormonal conditions, contraception review, menstrual changes
- Men's health — hormonal issues, ongoing chronic disease management
- Preventive care — health assessments, lifestyle advice, screening referrals
- Patients with multiple conditions requiring coordinated, holistic management
- Ongoing health monitoring for older adults with multiple conditions
Who This Service Is For
This consultation is appropriate if:
- You are managing one or more chronic conditions and need structured, ongoing care
- You have recently received a diagnosis and want a complete assessment and care plan
- You are an expat or international resident without an assigned family doctor in Portugal
- You want continuity — a doctor who knows your full history, not just the issue of the day
- You have complex or multi-system health needs that require more than a standard consultation
The GP Consultation is more appropriate if:
- You have an acute or sudden illness
- You need a one-off assessment, medical certificate, or single referral
- You have a simple, well-defined question
Paediatric and Geriatric Follow-Up
Family and General Medicine doctors are trained to care for patients of all ages — from childhood through to old age — as part of ongoing family health management.
For children: general health monitoring, developmental surveillance, and management of chronic paediatric conditions as part of family healthcare. For acute paediatric situations — fever, common infections, sudden symptoms — we recommend our Paediatric Consultation, with a doctor specialising in paediatric age groups.
For older adults: management of multiple conditions, polypharmacy, and ongoing care tailored to the specific needs of older age — one of the core pillars of Family and General Medicine.
No Assigned Family Doctor? We Understand
Many residents in Portugal — particularly expats, international students, and new residents — do not have a family doctor assigned through the NHS (SNS), and face significant waiting lists to register.
Our Family and General Medicine service was designed specifically to bridge this gap — providing the kind of ongoing care relationship you would have with an assigned family doctor, without depending on public-system availability.
Why Choose Our Care
Family and General Medicine specialists. Our doctors have completed specialty training in Family and General Medicine, recognised by the Portuguese Medical Association — the highest level of primary-care qualification available in Portugal.
20-minute consultations. More time means more complete care. Chronic and complex conditions cannot be properly managed in 15 minutes — this consultation is structured to give your doctor the time your health deserves.
Continuity of care. We aim to assign you a doctor who gets to know your history over time — not a rotating set of doctors reading your notes for the first time at the start of each call.
Focus on the international community. Many of our patients are expats or international residents without an assigned family doctor in Portugal. We provide the kind of ongoing primary-care relationship they would have in their home country — in their own language, with the flexibility they need.
Complete confidentiality and security. All consultations are carried out by encrypted video call, in full compliance with Portuguese data protection and telemedicine standards.
