Endocrinology with Sanitas
An underactive thyroid feels a lot like getting older – tired, heavier, cold all the time, flat. Which is why people live with it for years before anyone thinks to run the blood test that finds it in an afternoon.
What an endocrinologist deals with
Hormones, and the glands that make them. In practice that means four things most of the time.
Thyroid. An underactive thyroid causes tiredness, weight gain, feeling cold and low mood. An overactive one causes the opposite: weight loss, a racing heart, anxiety, heat intolerance. Both are common, both are easily diagnosed with a blood test, and both are very treatable.
Diabetes. Type 2 mostly, which is managed through diet, medication and regular monitoring rather than cured.
Osteoporosis and calcium problems, particularly after the menopause.
Other hormone conditions including adrenal and pituitary problems, and hormonal causes of infertility.
Why continuity matters more here
Endocrinology is not a specialty where one appointment fixes things. Thyroid medication is adjusted by trial, retested after six to eight weeks, and adjusted again. Diabetes needs reviewing every few months indefinitely.
The practical benefit of private cover is seeing the same doctor each time, someone who remembers what your levels did last time and what you tried. That continuity is hard to get in a busy public clinic and it genuinely changes the quality of care.
Diabetes: what is covered and what is not
Consultations, blood tests and monitoring are covered. So is the eye screening and foot checking that go with it, which is one of the more useful things a diabetic policyholder can use.
Medication is not covered. Spanish health insurance does not pay for prescriptions the way some other countries do. There is a pharmacy add-on you can buy which reimburses part of the cost, and if you take medication daily it is worth pricing.
Waiting periods
None on consultations or standard blood tests, so you can be seen from the start of your policy. Complex diagnostic tests carry the usual 6 months.
See every Sanitas waiting period in one place, including how switching from another insurer waives nearly all of them.
Where the endocrinologists are
441 clinics across 46 provinces, with 672 named specialists between them – and you can book any of them yourself, without a referral.
- Madrid – 92 clinics, 171 specialists
- Barcelona – 73 clinics, 107 specialists
- Valencia – 34 clinics, 47 specialists
- Alicante – 19 clinics, 54 specialists
- Malaga – 17 clinics, 21 specialists
- Balearics – 16 clinics, 23 specialists
- Murcia – 13 clinics, 20 specialists
Language at the appointment
For a condition you will be managing for years, being able to discuss it properly is worth the extra distance. Ask us and we will check who is near you and what languages they work in.
What you pay
Nothing at the clinic on a no-co-payment plan. A small fixed amount per visit on a co-payment plan – and since this specialty means repeat appointments, that is worth factoring in.
Find an endocrinologist near you
Browse endocrinology in the Sanitas directory – by province, with addresses, phone numbers and a map.
