Medicines 75 plus. MZ promises to solve pressing problem

On Tuesday, members of the Parliamentary Committee on Senior Citizens' Policy heard information from the Minister of Health regarding the issuance of prescriptions for free drugs for people over 75 (the "S" list). The discussion around the topic was dominated by two issues - the practical possibilities for AOS doctors to issue prescriptions for free drugs for seniors, and what drugs are to be included in this list.

Originally, only primary care physicians had the ability to prescribe drugs under the "S" list; relatively recently, specialists practicing under the AOS have also been granted this right. However, in order for a specialist doctor to prescribe a prescription from the "S" list to a patient so that the drug is free of charge to the patient, he or she must obtain permission from the patient to access the patient's Internet Patient Account (IKP) via the P1 Platform (the primary care doctor automatically gains access to the patient's prescription history and eligibility). - The patient must authorize the doctor to view the patient's medical history, verifying eligibility. For many seniors, this requirement is impossible to meet. It is an impediment. The current state of the law makes it difficult for them to exercise their rights," said Paulina Matysiak, vice president of the Commission.

The Left MP pointed out that the draft amendment to the Law on Benefits included a provision that would allow specialists to prescribe drugs from the "S" list to seniors without obtaining prior approval to access their medical data, but the implementation deadline of the amendment, set for the first quarter of 2022, was not maintained. - Legislation in this regard was prepared and was brought to the Diet more than a year ago, but the bill was not proceeded with. Therefore, the Ministry of Health prepared another omnibus law, into which the provisions in question were introduced. This law is still at the stage of the work of the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers and may not be implemented before the end of the term," admitted Deputy Health Minister Maciej Miłkowski. - We are analyzing into which other laws we can introduce these provisions. We still have two laws that are being processed, possibly there is also a reimbursement law, and if necessary this provision will be introduced there," he explained. When? As the deputy head of the Health Ministry stated, this could happen at the May or July session of the Sejm.

Paulina Matysiak also reminded that there is a provision in the reimbursement law that could limit access to drugs for seniors. - The list is to include only drugs produced in Poland or containing active substances produced in Poland, she stressed, adding that seniors already sometimes face drug shortages in pharmacies. - These were to be special additional preferences for drug production in Poland. This was a whole package of changes, and one of its elements was that the 75 plus list would first include drugs produced in Poland. If the assurance of availability is disturbed, so will all other remaining drugs," explained Maciej Miłkowski, adding that a consensus with the pharmaceutical industry is prepared and the government will withdraw from this proposal. - Simply this provision from the draft will be removed. So there will be no restrictions on the "S" list depending on where the drugs are produced," he stressed.