More than 5,200 European health insurance cards, which have replaced the E111 form, have already been issued by the Entitlement Unit within the Health Department.
Although the card system came into force locally at the beginning of this month, more than 3,300 had been issued by the end of last month, Entitlement Unit head Shirley Sultana said.
She said a number of people who were travelling over the New Year period had applied for the card.
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The card, which is given out for free, enables residents of the European Economic Area - made up of EU member countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - to obtain the same health benefits as the residents of an EEA country when they visit.
Card-holders will be treated in the same way as citizens of those countries if they require medical care, Ms Sultana explained. However, this does not necessarily mean that treatment in any of these countries will be free.
"Not all countries offer free medical care to their citizens," Ms Sultana said.
The card only covers treatment in public hospitals and clinics.
"This means that if you need medical care but are far away from a public hospital and need to go to a private clinic, you will not be covered," she said. The card does not replace travel insurance.
The unit is urging people to think ahead and apply for the card if they intend going abroad this year. Unlike the E111 form, which was issued on the spot, there is a waiting period of around five days for the card to be issued. The application form needs to be signed by each applicant and anyone collecting the card needs to show his identity card.
People can either choose to pick up the card from the unit or else have it mailed to them.
EEA countries are obliged to accept the card. However, there might be cases when the card-holder will still be asked to pay.
"It is important that if this happens, the person retains all receipts and documents and present them to the Entitlement Unit, which will then check to see how much money will be refunded."
Applications for the card can be picked up from the Entitlement Unit, Ground Floor, ex-Outpatient Block, St. Luke’s Hospital, G’Mangia Hill, G’Mangia or downloaded from www.ehic.gov.mt
The Entitlement Unit is open from Monday to Friday between 8am to 1pm.