Healthcare in Yerevan

Healthcare in Yerevan

Armenia's state package covers the ambulance and emergency stabilisation for everyone, but specialised care is mostly paid. Foreigners also pay for polyclinic visits, and EHIC and GHIC cards are not valid here. You pay up front and claim back from your travel insurer.

Most foreigners use private centres such as Nairi Medical Center, Erebouni Medical Center and Astghik Medical Center, which all run emergency departments. All three appear on the UK government's list of facilities with English-speaking staff. None has a confirmed international patient department, so expect to handle insurance paperwork yourself.

Independent lab chains have walk-in branches across the city and run tests without a doctor's referral. A routine panel costs about the same there as at a hospital lab, so choose on convenience rather than price.

Getting seen as a foreigner in Yerevan

Pay at the hospital cash desk, never a member of staff. Paying doctors or nurses directly is illegal, and every payment goes through the desk, called the kassa. Keep each receipt, because your insurer will want an itemised bill.

Book private specialists yourself, by phone or in person. Private clinics list specialist consults as stand-alone services, with no GP gatekeeper. One hospital's radiology department takes scan bookings by phone on weekdays only.

Ask which doctor speaks English when you book. Embassy lists of local doctors flag each one's languages individually, because English is not a default. Those lists often give doctors' mobile numbers too.

What healthcare costs in Yerevan

Private clinics in Yerevan charge flat per-service fees in dram, and several publish full price lists. Scans are priced per body segment, so a wider MRI costs more. Figures here use about 364 dram to the dollar, and that rate moves.

USD at about 364 dram; the rate has moved over 10% since 2023, so check the dram price.

Pharmacies

Antibiotics have been prescription-only by law since 2018. Since March 2024, an initial list of about 470 medicines has needed an e-prescription through the national ArMed system. Pharmacies connected to it refuse those medicines without one. Painkillers and common over-the-counter medicines are sold freely. Labels are in Armenian script, so carry the generic name of anything you take regularly. Ask a private clinic whether its doctor can issue you an e-prescription before you count on a local refill.

Health tips

Common visitor health risks in Yerevan

Emergency

Emergency number: 911

911 gets you an English-speaking operator. 103 is the direct ambulance line and 112 the unified one.

Armenian first, Russian widely understood

Older medical staff often speak Russian more readily than English. Major private centres have English speakers; check per doctor.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. [1] UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Armenia travel advice, Health
2. [2] UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Armenia list of medical facilities and practitioners
3. [3] German Embassy Yerevan, Ärzteliste
4. [4] Hartak, Medical care in Armenia
5. [5] Wikipedia, Telephone numbers in Armenia
6. [7] Izmirlian Medical Center, Price list
7. [8] Izmirlian Medical Center, Department of radiological diagnostics
8. [9] Ecosense, Laboratory services catalogue
9. [10] Spyur, Ecosense
10. [11] Repat Armenia, Hospitals and medical centers in Armenia
11. [12] Erebuni Medical Center, Frequently asked questions
12. [13] WhatClinic, Dental crowns in Armenia
13. [14] WhatClinic, Zirconia crown in Yerevan
14. [15] RFE/RL, Armenia working to resolve problems with pharmaceutical sales restriction
15. [16] JAMnews, E-prescriptions in Armenia
16. [17] Ecolur, Main problem of air pollution in Yerevan arises in winter
17. [18] Armenian Mirror-Spectator, Inside Yerevan's pollution crisis
18. [19] Armenpress, Heat report July 2025
19. [20] Azatutyun, Heatwave and Health Ministry advice
20. [21] Veolia Armenia, Drinking water
21. [22] ARKA, Water Committee and Veolia Jur on Yerevan supply schedule
22. [23] Cbonds, Central Bank of Armenia USD/AMD rate
23. [24] Vardanyan & Partners, Healthcare for digital nomads in Armenia

Country guide

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