Your Global Medical File (GMF)

The Global Medical File is the file managed by your general physician.

This file contains :

  • data about your healthistory
  • social and adminstrative data
  • reports from specialised physicians and other caretakers
  • data about the treatments you had
  • data about the prescribed medications
  • vaccinations

Personal notes from your doctor do not belong to your global medical file.

Based on this file the doctor has a total overview of your health condtion and will be able  to judge if the suggested examinations are necessary or superfluous and if the proposed treatments are not in conflict with eachother.

It is very probable that you have received inforomation from your health insurance or other information channels about the global medical file. We will highligt the information on the global medical file for you.

Your general physician is responsable for managing and coordinating your GMF.

Collecting  all your medical data with one general physician increases the quality of your healtcare. Your doctor is the best placed person to organise adequate referrals, and thanks to this global medical file the communication between the specialist , your general physician and other caretakers will be optimalised.

For managing and coordinating your file the RIZIV  (National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance) offers a compensation. Your doctor will charge the patient once a year an amount determined bij the RIZIV. This amount will be totally refunded by your health insurance. And on top of this you will get a reduction of € 1,5 on the patient fee at every consultation with your general physician. If you move away or if you change your choice of general physician your file will be passed on to your new doctor at your request. Only the next year you will have to pay your GMF-fee to this doctor .

Examinations and treatments by specialists

Specialised physicians are not obliged to share data with your general physician. The GMF is an instrument to get a better exchange of data. As a patient you can always ask your specialist to share his information with your general physician to get a better follow up of your  state of disease or health condition.