In 2023, there were 242 hospitals in Portugal, of which 107 were public or in a public-private partnership (PPP) with universal access, that is, they were part of the National Health Service or the regional health services of the Autonomous Regions. Between 2003 and 2023, the number of specialist nurses working in public or PPP hospitals with universal access tripled and the number of attendances at emergency services decreased by around 4%. In these hospitals, the average period of hospitalisation was, in 2023, 9.0 days. In 2023, almost 14 million external medical appointments were carried out, mainly in medical specialties (61%), with Medical Oncology, Paediatrics and Psychiatry standing out.

In recent years, the National Health Service and the regional health services of the Autonomous Regions have been the main financing agents of current health expenditure, supporting, in 2023, 55.2% of the total.