Iceland Health
Physical therapy
A physiotherapist who is starting
A physiotherapist must request membership in an agreement with six months' notice according to the contract. Contact is made with the Health Insurance through the institution's website here.
In order to operate under a contract with the Health Insurance Administration, the relevant physiotherapist must have a valid professional license and an operating permit. An operating permit is applied for through the Directorate of Health at Health Services Operations | island.is.
Other data that must be sent to the Health Insurance – through the data gateway Gagnagátt – Document Exchange – are:
Confirmation of adequate professional liability insurance
Once all required documents have been received and reviewed by the Health Services Division of the Health Insurance Administration, the applicant will be sent a link via email that directs them to the application form. Instructions regarding the application can be found here. The application must be completed and submitted. The application is then forwarded to the Contracting Division of the Health Insurance Administration for review and approval. If the application is approved by the Contracting Division, a second link is sent for signing the contract, which is done using electronic identification.
Once the registration is complete, the individual receives a letter in the Gagnagátt indicating the transaction number and the bank account to which payment should be made, as well as the transaction number of the branch. The physiotherapist must also send this information to Gagna so that invoices can be submitted.
Invoices cannot be submitted until registration in the Health Insurance system is complete.
Transfer to another workplace
The following documents must be sent to the Health Insurance through Gagnagátt - document submission.
Confirmation of adequate professional liability insurance
Please note that the registration of the operating license must be updated on the Directorate of Health's website in accordance with the new address. Health Services Operations | island.is.
Once all required documents have been received and reviewed by the healthcare services department, the registration of the individual is updated in the Health Insurance systems. Information about any changes must be communicated to Gagna so that invoices can be submitted.
Invoices cannot be submitted until registration is completed in the Health Insurance system.
Changes in Operations - Registration of a Physical Therapy Company
A notification of changes in operations or a new physiotherapy business must be sent through Gagnagátt - document submission.
If a new physiotherapy clinic is being opened or operations are being moved to new premises, documents must be submitted in accordance with the checklist available here.
Once all data according to the checklist has been received, it is assessed whether the relevant clinic meets the requirements set out in Article 8 of the Agreement between Health Insurance and Physiotherapists from May 2024 and Annex IV of the same agreement. Subsequently, the owner of the clinic is sent a letter confirming that the clinic has been approved by Iceland Health (SÍ). It is not permitted to commence operations at the clinic until such authorization has been granted by Iceland Health (SÍ).
Please note that an operating license must be applied for new businesses to Directorate of Health. Health Services Operations | island.is.
A physiotherapy company must be registered with the company register and comply with the registration requirements for a healthcare service business.
Invoices cannot be submitted until registration is completed in the Health Insurance system.
Roles and Rules of Procedure
The cooperation committee is composed of two representatives from the Health Insurance Administration and two representatives from the Association of Physiotherapists. The cooperation committee serves as a platform for collaboration on agreements between the parties and a future vision regarding the organization of services by independent physiotherapists. The Health Insurance Administration provides the committee with a staff member.
Decisions of the cooperation committee regarding changes, interpretation, or implementation of the parties' agreement are binding on physiotherapists working under it. Disputes within the committee may be referred to the negotiating committees of the Physiotherapists' Association and the Social Insurance Administration.
The roles of the cooperation committee are varied and relate, among other things, to operations and quality work, general and individual use of the fee schedule and service provision, new admissions to the agreement, volume control, and prioritization of services. For other aspects of the committee's role, reference is made to the cooperation agreement, which can be viewed in more detail here. The cooperation committee is bound by confidentiality regarding matters concerning physiotherapists that arise or are referred to the committee.
According to the agreement, the cooperation committee may establish its rules of procedure. These rules of procedure have been approved and are published here.
The cooperation committee has also prepared a checklist, which is still being worked on, to be used when issues concerning physiotherapists arise regarding exemptions from the provisions of the agreement between the Health Insurance Administration and the Association of Physiotherapists.
Address to the Cooperation Committee
The submission should be sent to the committee through the Data Portal (ice. Gagnagátt) - document submission – Cooperation Committee of the Association of Physiotherapists and Health Insurance.