Health and Wellbeing
For more information on the French medical care system please refer to our chapter on Health insurance.
What's up Doc?
For any health problem, it is advisable to consult a general practitioner, who will subsequently refer you to a specialist, if necessary. It is not possible to go directly to a specialist doctor without a referral from the general practitioner, with the exception of an ophthalmologist, dentist, or gynecologist.
For the best reimbursement, you must declare a primary physician with CPAM, the state health insurer, because not all general practitioners will charge the same tariff, depending on their agreement sector. For example, CPAM reimburses 70% of the conventional rate of 30 € per consultation with a general practitioner, regardless of their sector 1 or sector 2 agreement. A doctor contracted to sector 1 will apply the conventional tariff (30 €) set by social security. However, a sector 2 doctor will charge a variable fee. Any overrun of fees is therefore not paid by the CPAM, which calculates the reimbursement amount according to the conventional tariff.
It is therefore important to declare a primary physician to the CPAM and refer to the health directory to find a sector 1 physician close to home if you do not wish to pay the fee excess.
In terms of medication...
Medicines are sold in pharmacies and may be either over-the-counter (en vente libre), or by prescription.
Attention: Non-prescription drugs are not reimbursed by social security and prices may vary from one pharmacy to another.
Also, in France, pharmacies are generally not open at night, on Sundays, or public holidays. However, an emergency pharmacy ensures availability at night in each city. On-call pharmacies are open on Sundays and public holidays. For information on on-call pharmacies near your home, you can visit this website or call 3237 at any time.
University Health Centre – Centre de santé universitaire
Université Côte d’Azur offers different types of consultation services in order to promote the mental and physical well-being of its community: general medicine, sport medicine, mental health, nutrition, sexual health, combating addiction, etc.
For more information see the University Health Center webpages.
Disability
In order to promote the inclusion and the well-being of people with disabilities, Université Côte d’Azur has developed an ambitious disability policy.
The Disability Mission and the Disability Referents on each campus are very concerned about the issues and difficulties that students may encounter during their academic process.
For more information, please contact this email address: handicap@univ-cotedazur.fr
Gender-based and sexual violence
Université Côte d’Azur is involved in promoting gender equality and combating gender-based and sexual violence.
If you are witness or a victim of a discriminatory treatment based on sex or gender, of sexual harassment or of sexual violence, you can make a report on the online reporting platform in order to be heard by the reporting unit that will take care of your request.
In case of emergency
SOS Médecins is a network of doctors who make house-calls 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The reason for the appointment must be described when you telephone 3624 (15 cents per minute), so that the physician can predict the potential supplies for the call-out.
Please note that the consultation fees are higher than for general practitioners, and the social security system does not reimburse the entire call-out fee. It is therefore necessary to make sure you have subscribed to a health mutual so that it can cover a certain amount.
However, in the majority of cases, part of the medical expenses will remain the responsibility of the patient. Check the rates of SOS Médecins.
For any emergency requiring transportation to the hospital, or life-saving intervention, dial “15” so that the SAMU (ambulance service) can intervene, or dial “112”.
Hospitals
Here are the public hospitals in Nice:
Pasteur Hospital - Emergency Service
Adress: 30, Voie Roman - CS 51069
06001 Nice Cedex 1
Phone: 04.92.03.77.77
Bus: Line T28 / 04/20/25
Tramway: T1 Hôpital Pasteur stop
Archet Hospital
Adress: 151, route St Antoine de Ginestière
CS 23079 - 06202 Nice Cedex 3
Phone: 04.92.03.77.77
Bus: Line 22/33
CHU - Lenval Pediatric Hospitals
Address: 57, Avenue de la Californie
06200 Nice
Phone: 04.92.03.03.92
Tramway: T2 Lanval Hôpital stop ; Bus: Line 9/10/11/12/23 / N4 / 52/59/70/94
More details on Nice hospitals
Antibes Juan-les-Pins Hospital Center
There are also private hospitals, also called clinics (cliniques), but they do not adhere to the agreed Health Insurance rates. As a result, fees can be more onerous and reimbursements will be much less than in public hospitals.