🇸🇲 San Marino Healthcare Guide
Small but solid public health system — the ISS — with one main hospital in Borgo Maggiore and easy referral into Italian specialty care across the border in Rimini.
Quick facts
- Emergency number: 112
- Ambulance: 118
- Healthcare system: universal-public
- Average GP visit: $45 USD
- EHIC/GHIC accepted: Yes
- Language barrier: medium
Healthcare overview
San Marino's healthcare is provided by the Istituto per la Sicurezza Sociale (ISS), a state institute that funds and delivers all public care. The system is universal for residents and operates one main hospital (Ospedale di Stato in Borgo Maggiore) plus a network of district health centres.
For complex specialties or major trauma, patients are routinely transferred 25 km into Italy — typically to Rimini's Ospedale Infermi or Bologna's S.Orsola — under a long-standing bilateral healthcare agreement. Standards are comparable to Italy's regional system.
Vaccinations
Recommended
- Routine vaccines up to date
Prescriptions and pharmacies
Italian and EU prescriptions are accepted at San Marino pharmacies. Non-EU prescriptions are not directly fillable — bring a doctor's letter with each medication's INN (generic) name, dose, and indication.
Controlled substances follow Italian narcotics law. Carry your prescription paperwork and original packaging when crossing the open border to or from Italy.
Pharmacies (farmacie, marked by a green cross) are spread across the country — about a dozen in total. Common drugs use Italian brand names: paracetamol is Tachipirina, ibuprofen is Brufen or Moment.
An on-call rotation (servizio di guardia farmaceutica) covers nights and Sundays; check the schedule posted at any farmacia.