The Health System
| Purpose | Portuguese Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Serviço Nacional de Saúde — the National Health Service. | SNS | Free at point of use for residents and EHIC holders. |
| "User" — effectively your patient status within the SNS. | Utente | You have a número de utente (utente number), which is your SNS identifier. |
| your SNS number. | Número de utente | Needed for free public healthcare. If you live in Portugal, you get this at the Centro de Saúde. Tourists use their EHIC. |
| European Health Insurance Card — gives EU/EEA citizens access to medically necessary SNS care at the same terms as Portuguese nationals. | EHIC | |
| family doctor / GP. | Médico de Família | Your assigned primary care doctor within the SNS. Not all Portuguese residents have one assigned — waiting lists for Médico de Família allocation are long in some areas. |
| local health centre / GP surgery. | Centro de Saúde | Where your Médico de Família is based. Also where you access vaccinations, basic screening, and referrals. |
| specialist. | Especialista | You usually need a referência (referral) from the Médico de Família to see one, though GAT/CheckpointLX can refer you directly. |
| Infectious Diseases — the hospital department that handles PrEP, PEP, and HIV care. | Doenças Infecciosas | |
| Dermatology and Venereology — another department at some hospitals that handles STI care and PrEP. | Dermatovenereologia | |
| hospital pharmacy — where PrEP is dispensed (not at street pharmacies). | Farmácia Hospitalar | |
| street pharmacy / chemist. | Farmácia | |
| emergency department / A&E. | Urgência | Where you go for PEP. |
| triage — the initial assessment process in Urgência. | Triagem |
Sexual Health and Testing
| Purpose | Portuguese Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HIV (Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana) | VIH | |
| Sexually transmitted infection (Infeção Sexualmente Transmissível). | IST | "STI" in Portuguese. |
| PEP (Profilaxia Pós-Exposição). | PPE | Note that the Portuguese acronym for post-exposure prophylaxis is PPE, not PEP. Staff will understand "PEP" but the official term is PPE. |
| same term as in English (Profilaxia Pré-Exposição) | PrEP | |
| gonorrhoea | Gonorreia | |
| chlamydia | Clamídia | |
| syphilis | Sífilis | |
| hepatitis | Hepatite | |
| antibodies | Anticorpos | |
| result | Resultado | |
| blood/lab tests | Análises |
Swab Terms — Important for Three-Site Testing
Gay and bisexual men need swabs from three sites. These are the terms to use:
| Purpose | Portuguese Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| swab (the instrument and the test) | Zaragatoa | |
| throat swab (for gonorrhoea and chlamydia in the throat). | Zaragatoa faríngea | You may also hear zaragatoa da garganta. |
| rectal swab (for gonorrhoea and chlamydia in the rectum). | Zaragatoa retal | You may also hear zaragatoa anal. |
| urethral swab (for gonorrhoea and chlamydia in the urethra). | Zaragatoa uretral | |
| urine sample. | Colheita de urina | This alone is not sufficient for a full STI screen — it will miss throat and rectal infections. |
Key Phrases
| Purpose | Portuguese Term |
|---|---|
| Do you speak English? | Não falo bem português — há alguém que fale inglês? |
| Full STI screen — throat, rectal, and urethral swabs | Quero fazer um rastreio completo de ISTs, incluindo zaragatoas faríngea, retal e uretral. |
| Clinical context: I have receptive anal and oral sex regularly | Tenho relações sexuais anais receptivas e orais regularmente. |
| Anonymous HIV test | Quero fazer um teste anónimo ao VIH. |
| I'm on PrEP — need my three-month monitoring | Estou a tomar PrEP. Preciso de consulta de seguimento trimestral. |
| I want to start PrEP | Quero iniciar a PrEP. Tenho fatores de risco elevado. |
| Refer me to Infectious Diseases to start PrEP | Podem encaminhar-me para Doenças Infecciosas para iniciar a PrEP? |
| HIV exposure — I need PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) | Tive uma exposição de risco ao VIH e preciso de profilaxia pós-exposição (PPE). |
| PEP — it was less than 72 hours ago | Preciso de PEP para o VIH — foi há menos de 72 horas. |
| Vaccine — Mpox / hepatitis A / hepatitis B | Gostaria de me vacinar contra o Mpox / hepatite A / hepatite B. |
| I have an EHIC card | Tenho o Cartão Europeu de Seguro de Doença. |
| I need help | Preciso de ajuda! |
| Call an ambulance | Chamem uma ambulância! |
Emergency Numbers
| Number | Service |
|---|---|
| 112 | Emergency services (ambulance, police, fire) |
| 808 24 24 24 | SNS 24 — health advice line (24h) |
| 910 693 158 | CheckpointLX (GAT Lisbon) |