Czas oczekiwania na świadczenia medyczne w Polsce w świetle doświadczeń wybranych państw OECD
Waiting Time for Health Care Services in Poland and Selected OECD Countries

Summary/Abstract: The main purpose of the article is a critical evaluation of Poland’s past experience in reducing waiting times for health care services financed by public funds. Moreover, good practices undertaken by selected OECD countries are identified. Selected medical interventions across 43 areas of medicine in Poland have been analyzed. The time range in the article covers the years 2012–2016 and is based on the statistics contained in the WHC Foundation reports, the OECD Health Data and the NHF data. The advantages and disadvantages of the solutions across OECD countries are pointed out on the basis of the literature review. Overall, the waiting time for medical services tends to increase. This fact proves the lack of effective actions, which is seen as one of the most serious defects in the health care system in Poland. Actions taken to reduce waiting times for guaranteed medical services are chaotic, inconsistent and do not contribute to improving accessibility. As a good practice in selected countries (e.g. Great Britain), it is recommended to take coordinated action on both the demand and supply side, preceded by a reliable system diagnosis.

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