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Family doctor and public healthcare in the Balearics: health card, health centre and emergencies

When you arrive, the first thing to know is which health centre you belong to, how to get the health card and what to do in an emergency. This guide explains it with sources from IB-Salut and the Balearic government, and clarifies when private insurance is needed.

Sources checked on 24 October 2026 · 5 min read

General information. It does not replace the advice of a professional.

A doctor with a stethoscope writing on a patient's chart during an appointment.
Photo: Vitaly Gariev (Unsplash)

The short version, in a table

What you needWhere to go
The health cardIB-Salut, online or at your health centre.
A family doctor or nurseYour health centre. Appointments are booked by phone or app.
An urgent problem that cannot waitYour health centre, a continuous care point or the hospital emergency department.
An emergency061 or 112.
Health insuranceIf you do not work, it can be a condition for residence. The insurance section explains it.

The health card

IB-Salut issues the individual health card to insured people, their beneficiaries and foreign nationals from the EU or other countries who are in a regular situation IB-Salut.

  • Online: with the “initial application” procedure, using a digital certificate, electronic ID card or permanent Cl@ve. When it is resolved, the notice arrives in the Citizen Folder and says which health centre to collect the card from.
  • In person: at your reference health centre, with an appointment through INFOSALUT CONNECTA (971 220 000).
  • Basic documents for an adult: DNI, NIF or NIE, a recent colour photo of 26 x 32 mm and, if you have changed address, a current registration certificate (the “for travel” certificate is not valid; some municipalities in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza are exempt from submitting it). EU citizens provide the NIE and the passport or a photo ID.
  • Validity and renewal: the card lasts four years and is renewed the same way it is requested, also if it is lost or damaged.

The conditions change: check them with IB-Salut before you go. The order of the arrival procedures is in the NIE and first steps.

The health centre and the family doctor

Your health centre depends on your address: IB-Salut shows it with a search of healthcare centres IB-Salut. To book the family doctor (for a health problem, follow-up of a severe chronic illness or a preventive activity) or a nurse IB-Salut:

  • call INFOSALUT CONNECTA, 971 220 000: Monday to Saturday from 7 am to 9 pm, and Sundays and public holidays from 8 am to 9 pm;
  • or use the EspaiSalut portal or app, which let you book, change and cancel the appointment.

If you cannot go, cancel the appointment so other people wait less.

Changing doctor or address. A change of family doctor or nurse can only be requested in person, at the admissions desk of the health centre. If your address or identification details change, you can also do that there, without an appointment; the phone is only for changing your contact phone and email IB-Salut.

Emergencies, 061 and 112

According to IB-Salut, urgent care is what is provided when the clinical situation requires immediate healthcare, and it is available 24 hours a day. These are the resources IB-Salut:

  • Health centre: it deals with less critical needs and avoids unnecessary waits. For non-urgent care you need an appointment.
  • Continuous care point (PAC): out-of-hospital urgent care, for when you cannot go to your health centre.
  • Hospital emergency department: for serious situations or when you cannot go to your health centre.
  • 061: the urgent medical service, IB-Salut’s body for out-of-hospital urgent care and emergencies IB-Salut.

IB-Salut does not spell out how to choose between a PAC, the hospital or 061: in a serious situation, go to the hospital emergency department or call 061.

112 is the emergency number of the Balearic Islands. It is for when immediate help from the fire service, the security forces or health services is needed. It is free, you can call from a landline or a mobile, and from a mobile it works on any operator’s coverage, even without a SIM or PIN. It is for emergencies only: prank calls are penalised Govern de les Illes Balears.

Private health insurance and residence

A private policy and the health card are different things: the card is issued by IB-Salut and gives access to public healthcare.

  • If you register as an EU citizen without working, the right of residence for more than three months requires sufficient resources, for you and your family, so as not to be a burden on social assistance, and health insurance covering all risks in Spain. The article does not say whether the insurance must be public or private. If you work as an employee or self-employed, the condition is different and does not ask for that insurance Royal Decree 240/2007, art. 7. How to apply for the registration certificate.
  • The special agreement (convenio especial). The Ministry of Health describes it as the route for economically inactive foreign nationals who need health insurance to reside: it requires effective residence in Spain for one continuous year before the application (periods in other EU countries, the EEA, Switzerland or the UK count), being registered with a municipality and not having access to any other public health protection system, and it is signed with the regional health service Ministerio de Sanidad. That page carries no date: confirm the current conditions with IB-Salut.

Advice from this guide, which does not come from an official source: if you take out a private policy, ask what it covers, what it excludes, whether there are waiting periods and whether the centre you are interested in is in its network, and ask the office where you register which documents it accepts as proof of insurance. To arrange one: insurance.

If you prefer a private professional

A private dentist, physiotherapist or psychologist is a different choice from public healthcare. To check that their centre is recorded as authorised, see the health register (REGCESS), and to check that the professional is registered, how to do it.

In the directory: doctors, dentists, physiotherapists, psychologists.

Professionals in the directory

Categories related to this guide:

Doctors and clinicsDentistsPhysiotherapyPsychologistsPodiatristsInsurance brokers

Sources and date checked

Official sources checked on 24 October 2026. Procedures, requirements and amounts change: always check the source before you act.

General information. It does not replace the advice of a professional.

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