The new way of making appointments with a doctor will be simpler and faster. It is known when the change will come into force

Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna recently spoke on the implementation of election promises regarding health care. The head of the health department announced, among other things, a revolution in doctor appointments. There are more modifications in the area of ​​health care. The government is also planning changes to the payment of sick pay. The payment of benefits is to be taken over entirely by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), and the amount of sick pay is to be increased from 80 percent to 100 percent.

Announcements of a new method of registering with a doctor

During an interview with the “Wirtualna Polska” portal, Izabela Leszczyna was asked about creating an appointment booking system that would be similar to the one offered by private entities. This was one of the specifics presented by the Civic Coalition during the elections – “100 specifics for 100 days”.

“Such a system will definitely be introduced. If a private facility allows you to book an appointment with a specialist by text message or e-mail, reminds you about it and allows you to easily cancel it, such a solution can and should be introduced in the public health care system. However, we must remember that it is more complicated than in the case of private entities, because the scope of activities of public entities is much wider than that of private clinics,” said Izabela Leszczyna.

When will the changes in doctor’s records come into force?

The Minister of Health was also asked about the realistic date for implementing the announced promises. She noted that the first changes are to start soon: “The realistic date is mid-2024, but only when booking visits to some specialists. And gradually expand the offer to other specializations, so that in about a year the system will cover all visits.”

The head of the Ministry of Health explained the reason for this: “This will also allow us to check the solutions being introduced – we will start, for example, with oncology and cardiology, because the most important thing there is to shorten queues, and that is what this system is all about. If the solution works as intended, further specializations will be added,” she said.

Queues to doctors are also the result of uncancelled appointments

Recently, the National Health Fund reported that in 2023, nearly 12 million text messages were sent reminding about a visit to a specialist, examination or hospitalization (the reminder concerns the first visit of 40 services). Such a notification sent to the phone is intended to reduce the scale of uncancelled visits. As the National Health Fund reminds, in 2023, almost 1.3 million visits to the National Health Fund were lost. It is worth remembering that an uncancelled visit is a lost chance for health for another patient, that’s why it’s so important. Failure to cancel appointments also results in longer waiting times for medical consultations. The National Health Fund appeals to patients to cancel their visits if they cannot see a doctor.