When being treated in Poland, a patient may expect high quality health care and a wide range of health care services provided by specialised staff and with high quality equipment. This website provides basic information on healthcare system in Poland as well as search engines to help you find a doctor, a dentist or a hospital in Poland. In order to obtain detailed results, you should enter additional information regarding services you are looking for.
General rules for conducting medical activity and principles of functioning of entities performing medical activity are laid down in the Act of 15 April 2011 on medical activity (Journal of Laws of 2013 item 217).
MEDICAL ACTIVITY IN POLAND
Health care benefits in Poland are provided by entities which perform medical activity and which have been entered in the register of entities which perform medical activity, and with regard to physicians, nurses and midwives and representatives of other medical professions, who have the right to exercise the profession and have been entered in registers of physicians, dental practitioners, nurses and midwives. Registers are kept by appropriate professional associations or professional councils.
The register of entities conducting medical activity is available at http://rpwdl.csioz.gov.pl/. In order to obtain information about facilities providing health care services, go to ’where can you receive treatment’.
Types of medical activity in Poland
- inpatient and all-day health care benefits:
- hospital treatment
- health care services other than hospital treatment
- outpatient health care benefits.
Inpatient and all-day health care benefits, other than hospital treatment, may consist in particular in:
- provision of all-day health care benefits, which include nursing, care and rehabilitation of patients who do not require hospitalisation, and providing them with medicinal products and medical devices, premises and alimentation relevant to the patient's health status;
- provision of benefits consisting in health improvement actions, which aim at maintaining, restoring and improving health;
- provision of comprehensive health, psychological and social care to terminally ill patients with neurotic disorders and care to families of these patients.
Source: Article 9 (1) of the Act on medical activity
Outpatient health care benefits include primary health care services, specialist health care services and health care servicesin the scope of medical rehabilitation, provided in outpatient settings, not requiring hospitalisation and an over-night stay in an appropriately arranged room.
WHERE CAN YOU RECEIVE TREATMENT?
In order to obtain information on entities providing health care services in Poland, you should use registers, lists and search engines which are available on the following web pages:
- Centre for Health Care Information Systems, (Centrum Systemów Informacyjnych Ochrony Zdrowia, CSIOZ) - http://rpwdl.csioz.gov.pl, where the following search engines can be found:
- Medical entities - https://rpwdl.csioz.gov.pl/RPM/Search ;
- Practices of physicians and dental practitioners - https://rpwdl.csioz.gov.pl/RPZ/Search?institutionType=L
- Practices of nurses and midwives - https://rpwdl.csioz.gov.pl/RPZ/Search?institutionType=P ;
- The National Health Fund (NFZ) - https://zip.nfz.gov.pl/GSL - a search engine which makes it possible to find places where each patient can receive medical assistance in the framework of the general health insurance, including clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and hospital emergency departments (ED);
- Ministry of Health - http://www2.mz.gov.pl/wwwmz/index?mr=m8&ms=0&ml=pl&mi=0&mx=0&ma=10 -it includes information about health resorts in Poland;
Information on health care providers within the meaning of the cross-border directive may also be provided by the Regional Branch of the NFZ at the patient's request.
- Such a request must be made in writing and sent via email or fax.
- The request shall include information on the scope and mode of treatment which makes it possible to identify the appropriate entity;
- The request should include contact details which will make it possible to provide a reply.
In order to achieve reliable and adequate information and facilitate the process of providing a reply, one should fill in a request for information which contains a set of basic questions to help you identify suitable health care providers.