Kidney Care with Sanitas
Kidneys fail quietly. Function can drop a long way before you feel anything at all, which is why almost everyone arrives here because of a blood test rather than a symptom.
Kidneys fail quietly
That is the single most useful thing to know. Kidney function can drop a long way before you feel anything, which is why most referrals come from a routine blood test rather than from symptoms.
If a doctor mentions your creatinine or eGFR, those are the kidney numbers. A single odd result usually means nothing. A trend downward over a couple of years means something.
Who is most at risk
People with diabetes, people with long-standing high blood pressure, and people who have taken anti-inflammatory painkillers regularly for years. If you are in any of those groups, kidney function is worth checking annually, and it is a simple blood test rather than anything invasive.
What a nephrologist does
Investigates why function has dropped, treats what is treatable, and slows what is not. Managing blood pressure carefully is a large part of it, because the two problems drive each other. They also handle recurrent kidney infections, protein or blood in the urine, and inherited kidney disease.
Dialysis
If kidney function falls far enough, dialysis becomes necessary. Sanitas covers dialysis only for acute kidney problems; chronic dialysis and haemodialysis are not covered on any Sanitas plan. If it is on the horizon for you, get the specifics of your policy checked properly rather than relying on a general answer.
Waiting periods
None on consultations or blood tests. Complex investigations carry 6 months. Emergencies from day one.
See every Sanitas waiting period in one place, including how switching from another insurer waives nearly all of them.
Where the nephrologists are
141 clinics across 38 provinces, with 182 named specialists between them – and you can book any of them yourself, without a referral.
- Madrid – 18 clinics, 40 specialists
- Barcelona – 18 clinics, 24 specialists
- Las Palmas – 11 clinics, 12 specialists
- Malaga – 9 clinics, 7 specialists
- Tenerife – 8 clinics, 10 specialists
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 fixed amount per visit on a co-payment plan.
Find a kidney specialist near you
Browse nephrologists in the Sanitas directory – by province, with addresses, phone numbers and a map.
