Prices in private doctor’s offices. Why are prices rising so much?

Significant increases in the private medical services sector are a fact. In 2021, not only the prices of visits to a specialist became more expensive, but also medical packages. The year 2022 is expected to bring another increase in prices, even up to 30 percent. Prices in private medical offices include: the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.

1. Over the past decade, the average price of a private medical visit has doubled
2. The year 2021 is marked by further price increases. And this is not the end of the increases yet
3. Several factors contributed to this state of affairs. Why is it so expensive in private clinics?
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Private medical visit – price increases over the years

Every second Pole decides to use both private and public medical services. 10 percent citizens use only private medical care, believing that private clinics offer a much wider range of services. The report of Employers of Private Medicine and Deloitte indicates that in 2023 expenses on private care in Poland will amount to almost PLN 70 billion.

Recently, the prices of private medical visits have increased significantly. In the opinion of Medicover Polska, maintaining high-quality services and covering the increased expenses on medical services requires the private sector to valorize prices.

According to the data of the Central Statistical Office, in 2010 the cost of a private medical visit was PLN 68,1. In 2019 it was PLN 112,5, and a year later it was PLN 126,4. Prices have also increased in medical packages. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the cost of such a package in Luxmed was PLN 2021 in 87, compared to PLN 2019 in 69.

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According to the Central Statistical Office, which analyzed the prices of private medical services in 2021, they were rising every month. These are average prices from smaller and large cities. January (PLN 134,66), February and March (PLN 135,55), April and May (PLN 136,19 and PLN 136,44), June and July (PLN 137,59 and PLN 137,66), August and September (over PLN 138), October and November (PLN 140).

Data from the beginning of 2022 show further significant increases:

1. pediatrician – the average price is PLN 180,
2. dermatologist – PLN 200,
3. cardiologist – PLN 300.

Prices at doctors are up. Reason? Limited human resources

The factor influencing the increase in costs are severely limited human resources, leading to competition for doctors and medical personnel, which then translates into the wage pressure from these groups. According to OECD, in Poland there are 2,3 doctors per XNUMX inhabitants. This is the worst result in the entire European Union. Forecasts indicate that in the next few years in Poland the number of doctors specializing in: pediatrician, gynecologist and dermatologist will decrease.

1. Namysłów without a delivery room, Zamość without paediatrics. Several dozen branches have been closed in Poland

Increasingly expensive medical visits – the cause of the pandemic

In the opinion of the Polish Economic Institute, the rise in prices in the private medical services sector was influenced by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing rigors of ensuring sanitary safety for staff and patients.

1. the cost of masks, disinfectants;
2. implementation of new technologies related to remote work;
3. costs of IT equipment and employee equipment and costs of staff training.

The willingness to compensate for losses related to lockdown is also important – clinics, especially smaller ones, have been deprived of a source of financing (often the only one) and despite the fact that the restrictions after the strict lockdown have long been loosened, many facilities still feel losses.

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According to specialists, the increase in the prices of medical services in the private medical sector is driven by an increased demand for these services, which started after the first waves of the pandemic, with the simultaneous lack of new staff. In addition, the fact that the range of services provided during a single medical visit is growing is not without significance here – complex tests are often commissioned, the price of which has also increased, as well as more intensive diagnosis and referring patients to expensive long-term treatment.

According to PMR experts, the increase in private healthcare expenses will also be related to the reconstruction of the labor market and the improvement of the economic situation of citizens.

Increasingly expensive medical visits – the reason for inflation

The increase in prices in private doctors ‘surgeries is also influenced by inflation, which has been at the highest level for several years, and the related increase in prices of services, goods, energy, and fuels – it is impossible to slow down or halt the growth of these prices in private doctors’ surgeries.

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According to experts, rising inflation is expected in the coming years, which will have an impact on the prices of medical and pharmaceutical products and health-related services – and ultimately will affect the forecasted market value.

Increasingly expensive medical visits – the reason for demographic changes

According to experts, rising prices of services in the private medical sector are a permanent element in the Polish economy. The good economic conditions, especially wage increases and new social transfers, have been responsible for the acceleration in prices in recent years. As explained by Michał Bundyra, Lead Econometrician at PMR, growing revenues translated into an increase in demand and a faster increase in service prices in general. Such a phenomenon is characteristic of fast developing countries at an average level of development, such as Poland.

The stronger increase in the prices of medical services is probably due to structural factors. This includes, among other things, a relatively small increase in the number of medical workers and the problems that the public health sector in Poland has to grapple with. An important long-term factor, which will continue to influence the increase in prices, will be demographic changes – the growing number of elderly people, constituting a key group of consumers of health goods and services.

Stop the patient

Many doctors, fearing the loss of patients, decide not to raise prices in their offices, even when the financial costs related to providing protection to patients and staff have to be borne by themselves.

Telemedicine as an opportunity to optimize the costs of medical services

Telemedicine offers great opportunities to optimize the costs of medical services. The Swedish research company Berd Insight estimates that in 2022, as many as 16,5 million Europeans will use telemedicine systems. According to Medicover, almost a quarter of medical visits in Poland could be carried out remotely.

Subscriptions and health insurance

By purchasing subscriptions and health insurance, you can cut down on private medical expenses. Already 3,1 million Poles use health policies, thanks to which, for a fixed monthly fee, one has access to a certain number of medical consultations and diagnostic tests.

See also:

1. What does a physical examination look like during an e-visit?
2. How do I find an e-visit doctor?
3. How to prepare for a telemedicine visit?

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