Emergency numbers

The ER in Italian is Pronto Soccorso.

Hospitals with an ER

There are two main public general hospitals in Florence and they both have an ER.

1) Santa Maria Nuova in Piazza Santa Maria Nuova (central Florence)

2) Careggi (north Florence) viale Morgagni. (take the no.14 bus, tramvia or taxi)

and for children (general medicine and trauma): ospedale Meyer.

Pharmacies farmacia - look for the green neon crosses. They are everywhere in the centre.

There are two 24 hour pharmacies, one by the Duomo and another in the railway station.

Medicines are dispensed immediately when the pharmacist is handed the prescription.

acetaminophen in Europe is called paracetamol.

Prices:

some drugs, like antibiotics, are very cheap compared to the US (e.g. €7 for Augmentin (12xtabs)), or €10-€15 for a month of birth control

some are very expensive (e.g. €3 for 10 x Tylenol or ibuprofen).

ADHD:

In Italy, ADHD is really a diagnosis for the under 18s. Prescribing of Ritalin-like drugs is overseen by the paediatrics hospital, which US study abroad students do not have access to.

If you take these stimulant drugs then try to bring enough to last your semester abroad. However, in the US they are dispensed one month at a time so this is obviously very difficult. If they are posted from the US and Italian customs detects them then they will be blocked.

It is not impossible to get these prescriptions refilled here, but it is still extremely difficult.

There are specialists here that can assess you according to local guidelines. This may result in a prescription for something like Ritalin but it is not guaranteed. This option is expensive. Try to bring enough from home to last.