How does the «Prevention 40 PLUS» program work? I tried to use the research package

Contents

«Prevention 40 PLUS»: how to sign up for a medical examination?
«Prevention 40 PLUS». How to complete the survey and get a referral?
«Prevention 40 PLUS»: survey results
What tests can be performed under the “Prevention 40 PLUS” program?
Where can I do the tests? Five locations in my province
Time flies, research points are growing
«Prevention 40 PLUS» – the first, careful evaluation

The “Prevention 40 PLUS” program, announced for months, was made available to citizens on 1 July. As a freshly baked forty-year-old, I decided to check how it works and take advantage of the research package. It worked, but not completely.

The “Prevention 40 PLUS” program was launched on 1 July. According to current announcements, it is to be operational by the end of the year
People aged 40 and older can perform a free examination package and consult their results with a doctor
In order to receive a referral for research, you must complete a detailed questionnaire about your own health. It is available on the Patient’s Online Account. Questions can also be answered by calling the Home Medical Care hotline
How does the survey work, scheduling tests and the entire program right out of the box? I decided to check it out
More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

The “Prevention 40 PLUS” program is part of the Polish Order, i.e. the Law and Justice reform package. For the first time, Adam Niedzielski mentioned them in September last year. Then – shortly after taking over the portfolio of the minister of health – he announced the launch of a large screening program for women and men. The announcements have just become a fact.

– This is a symbolic date of July 1, I would like it to be associated with the fact that we are starting to rebuild public health and make up for health deficits related to the coronavirus pandemic – said Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski during the press conference inaugurating the program. – Much fewer patients reported to doctors in 2020. The “Prevention 40 PLUS” program is to help rebuild the health of Poles, but also to prepare us for such events in the future. Let’s take care of our health and take advantage of the proposed prophylaxis – emphasized the head of the Ministry of Health.

«Prevention 40 PLUS»: how to sign up for a medical examination?

Anyone aged 40 or over can take advantage of the program. It is worth adding that only the year of birth is counted here (without the month and day), so all people born in 1981 or older can participate in it.

Me too. I was born in January 1981.

Use of the “Prevention 40 PLUS” program should begin with filling in the questionnaire in the Patient’s Internet Account. You can also use the Home Medical Care hotline.

«Prevention 40 PLUS». Free research for people 1+ starts on July 40. How to use? What tests are available?

«Prevention 40 PLUS». How to complete the survey and get a referral?

To take advantage of the “Prevention 40 PLUS” package of tests, you must complete a questionnaire in the Internet Patient Account (IKP), which will assess the risk of certain diseases. After completing the questionnaire, an e-referral for the appropriate research package will be automatically issued. «Information that an e-referral for examinations has been issued for a given participant of the Prevention 40 PLUS program does not require printing or downloading from the Patient’s Internet Account. The medical facility to which the patient comes to perform the tests will download this information from the IT system – it is enough to report to it with an ID card »- we read on gov.pl.

So I log in to the Patient Online Account. In the bookmark Prevention> Surveys An extensive questionnaire is waiting for me, in which I am to provide information about my health.

The survey consists of the following chapters:

Anthropometric measurements
Risk and cardiometabolic diseases
Physical activity
Eating habits
Alcohol
Tobacco and nicotine
Cancers

«Prevention 40 PLUS»: survey results

In each of them, the system asks me about a number of things. Starting from weight, height and waist circumference, through the current blood pressure measurement, the level of physical activity, the diet used, the frequency of drinking alcohol and smoking, the history of premature deaths in my family or cases of cancer among my loved ones.

The questionnaire is clear, easy to use and intuitive. Filling out each of the subsections ends with a summary of the results and detailed health-related recommendations. The ones that you can implement yourself are written explicitly (“We encourage you to diversify your diet with additional vegetables and eat regularly, preferably more than 5 portions of fresh vegetables a day”), for the others, we are encouraged to discuss them with your doctor (“Talk to your doctor family / GP about the burden of cancer in the family »). Interestingly, we also receive praise (“Bravo, you take care of your own health and that of others. Thanks to this, you protect yourself and the people in your immediate environment against the negative effects of chemical compounds”).

Completing the survey requires focus and some knowledge of basic health parameters – for example, body weight and blood pressure. At the end, we receive a several-page report summarizing our health.

What tests can be performed under the “Prevention 40 PLUS” program?

The system further informs me that I have been qualified to perform the following tests free of charge:

Peripheral blood count with percentage formula
Platelets
Glucose concentration
Creatinine
Urinalysis
Uric acid
AspAT, ALT, GGTP
Weight measurement – up to BMI
Height measurement – up to BMI
Waist measurement
Blood pressure measurement
Lipidogram
FIT test (fecal occult blood)

It is not difficult to notice that these are rather basic tests, and four items – measurement of body weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure – are the parameters that I was asked about during the survey.

Critics of the program rightly point out that it completely ignores the control of the thyroid gland, cancer markers and many, many other diseases.

On the other hand, it is the first time in my life that I am included in the state program of preventive examinations. So I go further with interest and want to arrange the recommended research.

No limits to specialists. Will there be no queues? Doctors are under no illusions

Where can I do the tests? Five locations in my province

The system directs me to the website https://gsl.nfz.gov.pl/GSL/GSL/ProgramyProfilaktyczne, where I will be able to find the research point closest to my place of residence. Or just one whose location will suit me.

Here comes an unpleasant surprise. I live in Małopolska, near Krakow. However, I do not find a single research point in my poviat. I am easing the search criteria, but there are also no such points in Krakow. It turns out that the number of Implementers of Preventive Programs (this is what the Ministry of Health calls research points) in the entire Małopolska is five.

I look at other voivodships, but it’s not much better there. A dozen or so points are in the Lublin and Subcarpathia regions.

I’m calling on Home Medical Care hotline – at 22 735 39 40. There, a nice consultant informs me that “the program started today and the list of facilities is still being updated”. As he explains, the full list is to be available on Monday, July 5, both on the website and on the hotline.

«Please do not worry that you will not be able to do the tests. At the moment, the program is to last until the end of the year, and the referral is valid until the end of the program »- my interlocutor reassures me.

He also adds that simply filling in the questionnaire does not equal issuing a referral. «It will be put on display if you generated it (I did!), But it will happen within two days. You will be notified by SMS. The referral is assigned to the PESEL number, so there is no need to print it, the facility will see it »- I hear in the handset.

I also learn that I contact the facility and make an appointment myself. The test results will be available on the Patient Online Account.

The doctor pointed out Morawiecki. He did not leave a dry thread

Time flies, research points are growing

A nice consultant from the Home Medical Care helpline is right: the list is updated and the places where I can do my tests increase by the hour.

In the afternoon I get a reply from the Ministry of Health, asking why there are so few research facilities in my area.

«In response to your question, I would like to inform you that applications from medical centers interested in performing tests under the” Prevention 40 PLUS “program keep coming in. A map with a list of clinics can be found at https://pacjent.gov.pl/aktualnosc/wystaw-sobie-e-skierowanie-na-badania, there are also locations in the province. Lesser Poland. There are currently 18 of them in Krakow »

When I check the map of outlets around 18, the list of points in my poviat already amounts to 150. Two of them are in my immediate vicinity. In one of them on July 5 – as suggested by the consultant – I will try to make an appointment.

«Prevention 40 PLUS» – the first, careful evaluation

I decided to reliably – on my own, forty-year-old body – check the operation of the ministerial program of preventive examinations and inform MedTvoiLokony readers about it.

Too early today to evaluate the content of the program, available and inaccessible studies. There will be time for such comments.

For now, I praise the fact that the program was created and started. I also highly appreciate the operation of the hotline – available, reliable and helpful. It is a pity that the lists of institutions participating in the program have not been completed yesterday. Until noon, you could find on the Internet the opinions of “nice program, but in my city there are no facilities available”.

Therefore, I am waiting for my examination date and I am delving into the analysis of my health that the system generated for me.