diff --git a/backend/services/docker-compose.yml b/backend/services/docker-compose.yml
index 732e8498..7d82a27a 100644
--- a/backend/services/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/backend/services/docker-compose.yml
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ services:
       kafka:
         condition: service_started
     healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-q", "--spider", "http://localhost:3004/health"]
+      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3004/health"]
       interval: 30s
       timeout: 3s
       retries: 3
diff --git a/backend/services/referral-service/Dockerfile b/backend/services/referral-service/Dockerfile
index 9af2dd89..b0f29429 100644
--- a/backend/services/referral-service/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/services/referral-service/Dockerfile
@@ -35,10 +35,10 @@ FROM node:20-slim
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Install OpenSSL and wget for health checks
+# Install OpenSSL and curl for health checks
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     openssl \
-    wget \
+    curl \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Install production dependencies only
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ EXPOSE 3004
 
 # Health check
 HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=3s --start-period=40s --retries=3 \
-  CMD wget -q --spider http://localhost:3004/health || exit 1
+  CMD curl -f http://localhost:3004/health || exit 1
 
 # Start service
 CMD ["node", "dist/main.js"]