When you are referred to a hospital or a treatment institution in the specialist health service, they will assess whether you are entitled to treatment or medical investigations.
The referral must be sent to a treatment centre that is authorised to assess whether you are entitled to healthcare. Virtually all treatment centres in the public sector have such authorisation. Some private treatment centres also have such authorisation.
On the website Choose a treatment centre, select “Show only treatment centres which can grant entitlement to healthcare”.
Display filtered by "Rights assessment".
Illustration: Helsedirektoratet
You can also see whether a treatment centre can grant entitlement to healthcare under the information tab "About the treatment centre".
In this example, the referral must be assessed at another hospital.
Illustration: Helsedirektoratet
The treatment centre may grant entitlement to healthcare means that you can choose this treatment centre at any time in your pathway. Your referral can be sent to this treatment centre for an assessment of whether or not you are entitled to healthcare and a deadline. If you have already been granted entitlement to assessment or treatment, you can also opt to switch to this treatment centre.
The treatment centre cannot grant entitlement to healthcare means that the referral must first be assessed by a treatment centre that can grant entitlement to essential healthcare and give a deadline.
You can choose where your referral is sent to for such an assessment, and you can find which treatment centres are permitted to grant entitlement to healthcare by checking the box above the list shown above. Once you have been granted entitlement to healthcare, you can choose this treatment centre.
If you have received a letter stating that you have been granted entitlement to essential healthcare, you can choose any treatment centre in the list at Choose a treatment centre.
The procedure for choosing or switching treatment centre is explained here.
In the case of X-ray investigations and other diagnostic imaging, assessment for entitlement to healthcare is not relevant. Your treatment provider will send a requisition and the treatment centre will carry out the medical investigations without assessing your entitlement or giving you a deadline.
In the case of habilitation and rehabilitation, there are separate units within the regional health trusts which will assess referrals to private rehabilitation institutions. If you would prefer to go to a private treatment centre, your treatment provider will send the referral to the assessment unit in your region. You can ask for the referral to be sent to a regional assessment unit other than your local unit. See an overview of the regional assessment units:
Your midwife/GP is responsible for applying for a place where you can give birth. Your GP or midwife will apply for such a place to the maternity institution where you wish to give birth.
You can also apply for a place to give birth yourself, especially if you would like to give birth in an alternative birth care centre such as the ABC maternity ward in Oslo or the Storken maternity ward in Bergen or another similar ward, or if you would prefer to give birth in a hospital with high bed occupancy rates and therefore have to apply early, such as in the case of Oslo University Hospital. If you wish to apply for a place to give birth, you can send your application directly to the place where you wish to give birth.
Your midwife and GP will help you to choose where to have your baby. This depends on where you live, of your health, risk of complications during labour, and if you have a straightforward pregnancy. Midwifery-led units, hospital maternity wards and specialist clinics in Norway offer different services.
Illustration: Johnér Bildbyrå AB
Content provided by The Norwegian Directorate of Health
Last updated Tuesday, December 7, 2021