The health department will pay for drugs that may save the patient’s health or life. Easier access to non-standard therapies will be provided by the new regulations that have just come into force. What does this mean for patients?
Each consent will be considered individually and the Ministry of Health will pay only for funds that are admitted to trading in Poland and available on the market. So if the drug has not been registered yet and is, for example, in the clinical trial phase, then its purchase will not be financed by the National Health Fund. Only proven therapies can be reimbursed.
Patients who need a drug or medical technology that are not financed from public funds will primarily benefit from the amendment. This is often the case with rare diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy, Fabry disease or Niemann-Pick disease.
Easier emergency access to drug technologies is introduced by the same amendment that limits access to emergency contraception. From 23 July, all contraceptive medications are available on prescription only. Any doctor, not only a gynecologist, can write it out.