Factsheet – Poland
Health system overview
Poland runs a social health insurance model centered on the National Health Fund (NFZ). It’s funded mainly by mandatory health insurance contributions (with state budget top-ups and earmarked programs). A 2021 law schedules public health outlays to reach ~7% of GDP by 2027 (2024 planned ≈ PLN 190–195 bn, ~6.2% GDP).
Key-decision makers:
- Ministry of Health (MZ) – policy, regulation, supervision.
- National Health Fund (NFZ) – single public purchaser contracting providers and setting benefits/tariffs within policy.
- Agency for Health Technology Assessment & Tariff System (AOTMiT) – HTA for reimbursement, proposes tariffs.
- e-Health Centre (CeZ) – builds/runs national e-health infrastructure (P1 platform, e-prescriptions, e-referrals, EDM).
- URPL (Medicines/Devices Regulator) – authorisation & vigilance.
- Medical Research Agency (ABM) – public funding for clinical research/biomed innovation. PMC (Plus: voivodes/local governments own many hospitals; Chief Sanitary Inspectorate for public health.)
Funding & budget allocation
Medical Research Agency (Agencja Badań Medycznych – ABM) – clinical research/biomed; dedicated multi-programme envelopes (e.g., oncology non-commercial trials up to PLN 1 bn; other calls in hundreds of millions PLN). Official plan/changes published by ABM; total annual ABM financing is set in the Budget Act and adjusted by MZ.
Centre for e-Health – CeZ – managing national e-health infrastructure and Internet Patient Account; ~PLN 1.24 bn earmarked for e-health/digital projects.
Recovery Plan – Kryjowy Plan Odbudowy (KPO) – health-digital investments, including €5.7 bilion dedicated to digitalization and €4.5 billion specifically for health infrastructure investment.
https://iclg.com/practice-areas/digital-health-laws-and-regulations/poland
Care delivery & purchasing
Decentralized. Hospitals (often SPZOZs or company hospitals owned by local authorities or universities) run their own tenders under the Public Procurement Law; joint purchasing groups occur locally. Centralized buying is limited to strategic reserves (e.g., RARS for pandemic stock).
In public tenders: no formal local-supplier preference—EU/Polish procurement law requires equal treatment and non-discrimination.
In reimbursement policy (pharma): recent changes reduced co-pays for some domestically produced reimbursed medicines, shifting more cost to the payer—an indirect preference in reimbursement, not procurement.
Digital health Infrastructure
National P1/e-Health platform with Internet Patient Account (IKP) and Electronic Medical Documentation (EDM) services. E-prescriptions have been mandatory since 8 Jan 2020; e-referrals mandatory since 8 Jan 2021. EDM formats/exchange are standardised and integrated via CeZ (IHE/HL7-based) for nationwide interoperability.
Reimbursement for digital services
- Telemedicine: teleconsultations are reimbursed by NFZ (notably in primary care/POZ and selected ambulatory areas) under a defined organisational standard (e.g., documentation, triage, patient consent/identity, clinical limits such as rules for young children/first visits).
- Digital therapeutics (DTx): No dedicated national DTx reimbursement pathway (unlike Germany’s DiGA). Selected digital tools may be financed within programmes/devices on a case-by-case basis or via pilots. (Policy landscape evolving but no formal DTx list/tariff.)
Key challenges & priorities
Key Pain Points:
- Workforce shortages (low doctor & nurse density vs EU/OECD, aging nursing workforce).
- Waiting times/access (average waits for guaranteed services around months, lengthened in late-2024).
- Underfunding pressure & deficits (despite growth, spend as % GDP remains below OECD; NFZ funding gap flagged for 2025-27). https://www.ifp.org.pl/en/polish-national-health-funds-budget-gap-may-be-short-of-159-billion-zlotys-over-the-next-three-years/
- Hospital financial stress (structural debt issues persist in parts of the hospital sector).
National priorities:
- Digitalisation of care (continued rollout of EDM/IKP services; KPO-funded e-health upgrades).
- Oncology (long-running National Oncology Strategy 2020-2030; strong ABM focus on oncology trials).
- Primary care transformation & coordinated care, including expanded POZ scopes and telecare/remote monitoring where appropriate.
- Cost-effectiveness/value via AOTMiT-driven HTA/tariffs influencing uptake of new tech/therapeutics.
Other tips (practical for market access):
- Health IT vendors should align with CeZ specs and P1/EDM interoperability requirements early.
- Market access for drugs/devices hinges on AOTMiT assessments and NFZ contracting; pilots and ABM/KPO calls can catalyze adoption/evidence.
- Procurement: plan for hospital-by-hospital tenders; leverage consortia/joint purchasing where present; ensure EU-law compliant specs (can reference performance/standards but not origin/brand unless justified).
