As many as 40 percent of Poles paid for a doctor's visit with their own money last year. It turns out that it's not because we feel that private is better. In the vast majority of cases, we decide to pay when we hear how long we would have to wait to see a specialist from the National Health Fund. And we already spend a lot – on average PLN 80 per person per month.
– What's disturbing? Certainly, the number of people using non-public health care is growing – warns Klara Klinger, editor-in-chief of the website rybzdrowie.pl. Visits to the doctor – instead of the National Health Fund – are increasingly private. Last year, 40 percent of Poles paid for their visit out of their own pocket.
– We have quite a big gap in the system. We are able to make an appointment with a primary care doctor, in critical situations go to the emergency room, but when it comes to specialist doctors – let's call it by its name – most of them are a disaster – points out Aleksandra Kurowska, editor-in-chief of the website cowzdrowieu.pl.
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Patients fill the gap in the system with their own money. 90 percent of expenditure on specialist treatment is financed outside the National Health Fund. Families with small children and those from larger cities and with larger budgets are more likely to pay for private treatment. But everyone spends more than in previous years – an average of PLN 80 per person per month spent on health care.
Households using medical services not financed by the National Health FundCentral Statistical Office
– Politicians in Poland called the benefits package guaranteed, but in fact there are no guarantees here. Only queues are guaranteed – points out Krzysztof Łanda from the Watch Health Care Foundation.
Main causes
Queues are the main reason why patients prefer to pay instead of waiting. Privately it simply means faster. Interestingly, it's not any better. Only 11 percent of patients believe that a private specialist is a better specialist.
Main reasons for using medical services not financed by the National Health FundCentral Statistical Office
– Access to public health care is minimal or simply non-existent. The health care system has abdicated. There is no sign that things are getting better, and in fact, every year the number of people using private care is increasing – admits Łukasz Jankowski, president of the Supreme Medical Council.
People diagnosed with cancer often don't know what to do next. A special website has been createdMarek Nowicki/Fakty TVN
How to increase accessibility?
It is patients with thyroid diseases, ischemic heart disease and depression who most often say that they need to be treated privately.
– If someone is depressed, if someone suddenly loses hair, swells and suspects thyroid disease, they cannot wait 8-10 months for a specialist – emphasizes Aleksandra Kurowska. – The demand for psychiatric care is increasing, and the availability of psychiatrists is not increasing, on the contrary – it is decreasing – warns Klara Klinger.
The system fails, so the patient pays. – Focus on increasing accessibility through simple solutions, such as e-registration, so that the patient can see where the queue is shortest, where he can register and see a specialist – suggests Łukasz Jankowski.
Last year, patients did not cancel over a million visits. Those visits are gone.
Main photo source: Fakty TVN