In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are more and more concerns related not only to the coronavirus. They also concern other diseases and, consequently, patients’ access to medical services. “Investments and improving the quality of the health care system in Poland” is the topic of a panel discussion that took place during the Pharma Planet forum. It took place on November 4-5, 2020.
Fighting the coronavirus required budget shifts in many respects. Therefore, there were concerns about the stability of the sector related not only to health care, but also to pharmaceuticals and the production of medical devices. The speakers of the panel discussion that took place during forum Pharma Planet 2020. Among them were:
- dr hab. Katarzyna Kolasa, Professor of ALK Health Economics from the Kozminski University,
- Krzysztof Łanda, President of Medinvest Scanner, previously Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Health,
- Irena Rej, President of the Chamber of Commerce “Farmacja Polska”,
- Krzysztof Kopeć, President of the PZPPF,
- Arkadiusz Grądkowski, General Director of the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Medical Devices “POLMED”.
Janusz Jaroszyński, the head of the Postgraduate Studies “Master of Business Administration in Healthcare” from the Medical University of Lublin, who moderated the discussion, emphasized that in recent months we have been observing a huge increased expenditure on testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients. There is even an impression that all funds are intended for fighting the pandemic. In this context, it is possible to consider what about other patients who still need care, and the possibility of reaching a doctor almost overnight has been significantly impeded for them.
Digitization of the health area
The digitization of the health area has largely contributed to improving the situation of patients. This was pointed out by, among others, Dr. Katarzyna Kolasa, professor of ALK Health Economics from the Kozminski University. During the discussion, she noted that although we are lagging behind many more developed countries, a lot has been introduced in Poland digital solutions enabling remote patient care. And we are not only talking about e-consultations, but also tools for monitoring the patient’s health. In the context of a pandemic, this may mean that the patient will be allowed to stay at home instead of, for example, a field hospital.
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Janusz Jaroszyński spoke in a similar vein. First of all, he emphasized how difficult it was to imagine functioning during a pandemic, if not for the e-prescriptions or e-exemptions introduced.
However, there is still much to be done in this context. Dr hab. Katarzyna Kolasa cited an example from Estonia, where patients have a medical history on their phones assigned to their ID cards. In this model it the patient decides what information the doctor will see about him – he is the decision maker. However, in order to introduce such solutions in Poland, it is necessary to provide a safe system that will enable the patient to use medical information.
Availability of health services
Krzysztof Kopeć, president of PZPPF, pointed out an important aspect of accessibility. He stressed the essence of long-term planning, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. Patients should have constant access to therapy on the one hand, and medications on the other. It is a service that not only saves the health and lives of patients, but also reduces costs.
Arkadiusz Grątkowski, general director of the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Medical Devices “POLMED”, pointed to the importance of medical devices. Their role has been clearly demonstrated by the pandemic. However, the issue of their financing still requires ordering and modernizing. “It’s not like drugs first, then products. We are equal – there are no products without drugs, and without products there are no drugs – there is no treatment, ”said Arkadiusz Grątkowski.
Summation
Digitization is one of the main challenges for the health care system in Poland. The first actions in this context have already been taken – one can mention e-visits, e-leaves or e-referrals, but also devices for remote measurement of the patient’s health. Dynamic development is still needed, both in terms of the availability of services and medical information for patients.
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