Choose another hospital

As a patient in Norway's specialist health service, you can as a rule choose where you are assessed and treated. This is called the right to choose your treatment centre (in Norwegian, fritt behandlingsvalg), and it applies even if you are already on a waiting list. Waiting times vary between hospitals, often by a lot, so switching can be the quickest way forward. This guide explains what you can choose, how to switch, and what to consider before you do.

What you can choose

You can choose which hospital or treatment centre assesses your referral. Once you have been granted the right to healthcare, you can also choose where you receive it. The choice covers every public hospital in the country, private treatment centres with an agreement with one of the regional health authorities, and contract specialists (avtalespesialister). A private centre without such an agreement is not part of the scheme, and you pay for treatment there yourself.

You choose the place, not the treatment. You cannot choose a higher level of care than the one you have been offered, such as admission instead of outpatient care, or switch to get more specialised treatment. What you need is for the doctors to decide.

Finding the waiting times

Helsenorge publishes waiting times and treatment centres in Velg behandlingssted (in Norwegian). You search for the treatment or assessment you need and see the expected waiting time at each centre. The figures are estimates, not guarantees. Your own waiting time depends on how serious your condition is and on your health in general.

It pays to look beyond the number. A centre with a short waiting time may be far away, and you should consider whether you can manage the journeys, both to the first appointment and to check-ups afterwards. You can also ask the centre directly what the waiting time is for what you need.

How to switch

If you have not been referred yet, you can ask your GP to send the referral to the centre you have chosen. You can do this at your first appointment, and your GP can help you choose.

If you are already on a waiting list, you do not need a new referral. Contact the centre where you are waiting and ask them to forward the referral to the centre you have chosen. You can only be on one waiting list at a time, so once the referral has been forwarded, the new centre is responsible for you.

Your deadline goes with you. It is based on what is medically justifiable for you and applies wherever you are treated. The new centre may still need a little time to take you on, as long as that is justifiable. If the deadline is not met, the usual rules on missed deadlines apply.

Travel

You are entitled to have your travel covered even when you have chosen a centre further away. If you choose a centre outside the health region where you live, the co-payment per journey is higher than usual. This does not apply if the centre you chose is the nearest one that can give you the care, or if your own health region does not offer it. When you claim your travel costs, you must state that you have used the right to choose your treatment centre. Current rates are set out in section 24 of the Patient Travel Regulations (in Norwegian) and by Patient travel on Helsenorge.

When switching is not worth it

Switching is not always the right choice. If you are in the middle of a course of care where the same doctors follow you over time, starting again somewhere else may cost you more than you gain in waiting time. The same applies if your follow-up after treatment needs to happen close to where you live. Talk to your GP or the hospital before you decide, and ask what switching would mean for your follow-up.

How we can help

We help you find out whether another centre can treat you sooner: we look at the waiting times for what you need, ask the treatment centres, and go through the pros and cons with you. If you decide to switch, we help you ask for the referral to be forwarded and keep track of your deadline. You make the choices and you get in touch. Our help is free while we start up, and you can get started with a short form.

Sources

The right is set out in section 2-4 of the Patients' and Users' Rights Act, and the Norwegian Directorate of Health explains it in its circular on section 2-4, both in Norwegian. Helsenorge explains how to choose, from referral to treatment. The rules on travel costs are in the Patient Travel Regulations (in Norwegian).

This guide is not legal advice, and the rules may change. It was last checked against the sources on 16 October 2026. You will find more guides under Guides.