Czech Republic
CZ
Healthcare System
The Czech Republic operates a Bismarck-model mandatory public health insurance system with 7 competing health insurance companies. All residents are required to have health insurance. VZP ČR (Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna České republiky — General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic) is the dominant insurer with ~60% market share. The system is regulated by the Ministry of Health (MZ ČR — Ministerstvo zdravotnictví České republiky). The Czech Republic is a major EU destination for medical tourism, especially dental care, with Czech dental prices 50-70% below Western European rates.
- System Type
- Universal multi-payer mandatory insurance (Bismarck model)
- Regulatory Body
- SÚKL (Státní ústav pro kontrolu léčiv) — State Institute for Drug Control; drug authorization, pharmacovigilance, eRecept system. MZ ČR (Ministerstvo zdravotnictví ČR) — Ministry of Health; overall health policy, procedure tariff. ÚZIS ČR (Ústav zdravotnických informací a statistiky ČR) — health statistics and DRG-CZ. ČLK (Česká lékařská komora) — Czech Medical Chamber; physician licensing. EMA for centralized EU approvals.
- Data Protection
- GDPR (EU) + zákon č. 110/2019 Sb. o zpracování osobních údajů (Czech Personal Data Processing Act) + ÚOOÚ (Úřad pro ochranu osobních údajů — Office for Personal Data Protection)
- Currency
- CZK
- Emergency Number
- 112 (general), 155 (ZZS ambulance)
- Languages
- cs
Coding Systems
diagnosis
MKN-10 (ICD-10)
MKN-10 (Mezinárodní Klasifikace Nemocí 10. revize — Czech official translation of ICD-10). Codes are identical to WHO base ICD-10; differences are only in Czech-language label translations. Used for all hospital reporting, insurance billing, and death certificates. ÚZIS ČR (Ústav zdravotnických informací a statistiky ČR — Institute of Health Information and Statistics) administers the code set.
dental
FDI (ISO 3950)
FDI two-digit notation universal in Czech dental practice. Czech dental records use FDI notation. Dental procedure coding uses insurance company-specific codes for the very limited publicly covered dental services; private dental work is described narratively or using internal clinic codes.
procedures
Sazebník výkonů / číselník výkonů
Sazebník výkonů (tariff of medical services): national catalog of medical procedures maintained by MZ ČR with assigned point values. Each procedure has a 5-digit code and a point value (bod). Health insurers pay based on contracted point values (CZK per bod). Procedure catalog: Vyhláška č. 134/1998 Sb. (regularly updated). Different procedure sets for: ambulantní péče (outpatient), lůžková péče (inpatient), ZZS (emergency). DRG-CZ: IR-DRG-based grouper introduced progressively; mandatory reimbursement use expanding.
drg
DRG-CZ (IR-DRG)
DRG-CZ based on IR-DRG (International Refined DRG) classification introduced for analytics in 2007, progressively becoming mandatory for reimbursement. Input: MKN-10 diagnosis codes + Sazebník výkonů procedure codes. Administered by ÚZIS ČR. Parallel to the point-based Sazebník for hospital payment transitions.
drugs
SÚKL registration / ATC / SUKL code
SÚKL (Státní ústav pro kontrolu léčiv — State Institute for Drug Control) authorizes drugs in the Czech Republic. Each drug has a SÚKL registration number. ATC classification used for reimbursement listing. Reimbursement list (Seznam léčivých přípravků) updated quarterly by SÚKL. E-prescription (eRecept): mandatory in Czech Republic since 2018 via system administrated by SÚKL.
Translation Corridors
Ready to translate Czech Republic medical documents?
Get Started Free