Choosing another family doctor, paediatrician or health centre is not the same procedure as requesting care at another hospital or from a particular specialist. The Valencian public health system keeps two year-round processes open to people entitled to public healthcare who hold a SIP card, but their limits, documents and decision-makers differ.
Primary care choice stays within the assigned department
The primary-care application covers a family doctor, paediatrician or centre. As a rule, the choice is exercised within the health department assigned to the patient. Moving outside that department is exceptional and requires one of the situations in Decree 74/2015 to apply and be supported, for example where proximity to the workplace is the stated reason.
The form is addressed to the basic-zone manager of the chosen centre. It can preferably be submitted at that centre or a Patient Information and Assistance Service, as well as through the electronic office or an accepted public register. Applications involving a child or represented person require evidence of the relationship; a person submitting on someone else’s behalf uses the corresponding delegation.
The chosen professional provides a compulsory but non-binding report. A decision must be issued within 15 working days after receipt by the competent body. Approval updates the new assignment in the SIP system; a refusal must state its reasons in writing.
Specialist choice requires a clinical indication
The specialist procedure can request a doctor or service in any department of the Valencian Health System. It does not replace referral: a public GP, paediatrician or specialist must have indicated the need for that care. The supporting report accompanies the application; it is not required for a straightforward primary-care change.
The request is submitted preferably to the patient information service in the department where the chosen specialist or service works, or through a register or the GVA electronic office. The choice covers the episode of care that prompted it until discharge or withdrawal. If the specialist requests further consultations during that process, a fresh choice application is not required for each professional.
Freedom of choice does not guarantee a place
The health authority may refuse where the professional already exceeds the assigned population or the service has a waiting list that would compromise quality, where the applicable conditions are not met, or where a reasoned concern affects the clinical relationship. For specialist care, the administration has one month to communicate its decision.
After a change, another request in the same specialty cannot be made for six months. It is therefore worth confirming the exact centre, professional or service, its health department and whether it provides the care sought. The application does not bring an appointment forward or itself shorten a waiting list: it changes the assignment or place of care only if approved.