Healthcare in Cairo

Healthcare in Cairo

Cairo's private hospitals are the ones foreigners use, and they are inexpensive by Western standards. As-Salam International and Nile Badrawi sit on the Corniche in Maadi. Cleopatra Hospital covers Heliopolis, and the Anglo-American Hospital in Zamalek is the most central option.

Care is billed itemised and mostly in cash. A consultation fee is the doctor's fee, not the building's, so the headline numbers are low and the extras are added on top. Expect to pay up front, or leave a deposit, before anyone treats you.

Independent lab chains take walk-ins without a referral and cost far less than ordering the same test through a hospital. Results usually arrive the same day, by app or email, with test names in English.

Navigating care

How to see a doctor in Cairo

Book through an appBooking apps list most Cairo doctors with their fee shown up front, and you pay the doctor at the clinic rather than the app. It is the fastest way to find an English-speaking specialist near you.

Go to the evening clinicMost senior consultants hold a hospital post by day and run a private evening clinic from around 16:00. That is where you see the big name, usually for cash, and often by taking a number rather than a timed slot.

Do not wait for an ambulanceFor an emergency, skip the public ambulance. It gets stuck in traffic and delivers you to a public hospital. Call the private hospital's own ambulance, or take a car straight to its emergency department.

Costs

What healthcare costs in Cairo

Private care in Cairo costs a fraction of Western Europe or North America. A GP consultation runs about $8 to $16 and a specialist $12 to $30, with the senior professors at the top of that range. Tests and scans are billed separately, and an independent lab will undercut any hospital.

Emergency and lab fees are not published in Egypt, so those rows are estimates, billed itemised and paid up front.

Pharmacies

Cairo pharmacies are permissive in practice. Egyptian law requires a prescription for prescription-only medicines, but antibiotics and many other drugs are routinely handed over without one. The large chains are open late, several run around the clock, and most deliver. The restriction that catches travellers is at the border, not the counter. Codeine and tramadol are controlled in Egypt, along with stimulants and psychotropics. People have been jailed for carrying them. Bring the original packaging and a copy of your prescription showing your name and the generic drug name.

Health tips

Common visitor health risks in Cairo

Emergency

Emergency number: 123

123 is the ambulance line, but traffic makes it slow and it goes to a public hospital. Most people call a private one.

English at the private hospitals

Staff at the main private hospitals speak English and run international patient teams. English is far less certain in the public system.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. [1] US Embassy Cairo — emergency contact information for visitors
2. [2] Cleopatra Hospital — international patient guide
3. [3] Saudi German Hospital Cairo — official site
4. [4] Vezeeta — Cairo doctor listings and published consultation fees
5. [5] Expatistan — cost of a private doctor visit in Cairo
6. [6] Misr Radiology Center — published imaging prices
7. [7] CDC Yellow Book — Egypt: food and water precautions
8. [8] IQAir — Cairo air quality and PM2.5 index
9. [9] WHO EMRO — road safety in Egypt
10. [10] Pharmacy regulation in Egypt — prescription-only rules in practice
11. [11] CDC — travelling with prohibited or restricted medications
12. [12] UK FCDO — Egypt travel advice: health and insurance

Health guides for Egypt

• MedicationADHD Medication in Egypt: Controls, Brands and Import Rules

Country guide

• CountryHealthcare in Egypt