When moving to Sofia, arranging medical care often comes after housing, work and transport. If you are in ongoing treatment or expect follow-up tests, put choosing a practice on your list before your next visit or document renewal.

Distinguish a permanent move from a temporary stay

Consider whether you are actually changing your current address or staying in the city temporarily. NHIF (National Health Insurance Fund) describes a change of current address as a reason for changing your GP outside the usual periods. Which procedure applies should be checked for your own case, not only on the length of your rental contract.

If you are staying for a limited time, ask about the options for a temporary choice. If in doubt, contact the RHIF (regional health insurance fund) or the practice you have chosen. Don’t assume that every short trip requires permanent registration with a new doctor.

Choose the practice by your real route

NHIF states that your choice in Sofia is not limited to the district of your current address. This lets you compare a practice near your home with one that is convenient for your work.

Check the route, the hours and the exact entrance. Ask whether the doctor accepts new patients and whether the conditions match your age and insurance situation. The directory is a starting point; final confirmation comes from the practice.

Sort out your documents before the move

  • Discharge summaries from recent or important hospital stays.
  • Specialists’ conclusions related to your current follow-up care.
  • Your latest relevant laboratory and imaging results.
  • A list of your medicines with doses and how you take them.
  • Information about planned follow-up examinations and tests.

Prepare a short summary of what is coming up. Don’t rely on the new doctor having every old document straight away or knowing what you discussed verbally with the previous one. Ask how to share the information safely if it is in electronic form.

Organise the transition if you are in treatment

If you take medicines or are in a follow-up programme, say so at the first contact. Agree with your treating specialists and your GP how to avoid a break in organisation. Don’t change or stop treatment because of the move without a medical assessment.

A booked appointment does not automatically complete registration. Ask when the administrative procedure has been recorded and how your next visits will be organised.

Two different parts of Sofia

As an example of a practice with two addresses, Dr Boris Gavrilov sees patients in Manastirski livadi, 104 Bulgaria Blvd and Hadzhi Dimitar, 50 Nayden Georgiev St. Check the conditions and choose the specific location when booking. trqbvami.com has an editorial partnership with the practice; this example is not a comparative medical assessment.

Before your first visit, write down your questions, the medicines you take and the documents you will bring. That way the administrative questions and the medical conversation can be prepared together. The surgery hours of both practices are in Dr Gavrilov’s profile.