Falling ill on a trip is one problem. Arriving already under treatment is a different one, and it gets far less attention. If you have a chronic condition, take medication daily, or are mid-way through a course of treatment, this is how to keep it running while you are in Brazil.

Before you travel

  • Bring enough medication for the whole stay, plus a margin, in original packaging.
  • Ask your doctor for a short summary of your condition and treatment — diagnosis, medicines with generic names and doses, recent test results. One page is enough, and it is worth more than any app.
  • Check whether your medication has an equivalent in Brazil. Brand names change; the active ingredient usually does not.

Why your prescription from home will not work here

It is not bureaucracy for its own sake: a Brazilian pharmacy can only dispense against a prescription issued in Brazil. That applies even when the medicine is identical and the packet is in your hand.

To continue treatment you need an assessment by a doctor licensed in Brazil, who can then prescribe. The prescription is valid nationwide.

Controlled medicines

If your treatment includes a medicine that requires a special prescription form — the yellow or blue ones — the rules are stricter, but it is not out of reach. Mention it when you book so the right route can be confirmed for your case before the appointment rather than after.

Follow-up during a long stay

Three or six months is long enough for a dose to need adjusting or a symptom to need reviewing. Online consultations work well here: the same doctor can follow you through the stay, read the results of tests done locally, and adjust treatment without you rebuilding your history each time.

If you need tests, a doctor licensed in Brazil can issue the request, and you have them done at a local laboratory.

When to be seen in person instead

Physical examination, imaging, procedures, or a condition that is deteriorating rather than stable. A remote consultation is for continuity and adjustment, not for replacing an examination that your situation calls for.

Frequently asked questions about continuing treatment in Brazil

Can I keep taking my usual medication in Brazil?

Yes, but to buy more you need a prescription issued in Brazil.

Will the same medicine exist here?

Usually there is an equivalent. Take the generic name, not the brand.

Can I have tests done as a visitor?

Yes, privately, with a request issued by a doctor licensed in Brazil.

Can the same doctor follow me through my stay?

Yes. Continuity is one of the things online consultations do best.

General information, not individual medical advice. Reviewed by Dr. Marcelo Rafael Lujan, CRM-SC 42.900.

Staying a while and need your treatment to continue? Speak to a Brazilian-licensed doctor online, in English, wherever you are in the country.