Prescription for free drugs also from private doctor. The health ministry estimates the cost of changing the law

Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna has been informing about this solution for a long time - including during the Extraordinary National Convention of Physicians, which took place in mid-May. Because the solution in force at the moment - that drugs from the "S" and "OJ" lists can only be prescribed by PCPs or doctors working in AOS clinics and hospitals (most often, however, this is the task of PCPs) is a problem for both patients and doctors themselves. Specialists accepting within the private sector have pointed out since the beginning of the expansion of the free drug program that, especially for the pediatric population, this is quite a problem (because seniors generally receive specialist advice more often in the public sector). However, that's not all - the regulations excluded not only "private" doctors but also, for example, those working in hospice care.

- The purpose of the planned changes is to eliminate the problem of current restrictions related to the ability to issue prescriptions for reimbursed certain drugs, foodstuffs for special nutritional purposes or medical devices to which persons under 18 or over 65 are entitled free of charge. These restrictions boil down to the fact that only certain doctors and nurses have the aforementioned prescribing rights, the health ministry explains in the project's justification. Currently, according to Article 43a (1) and (1a) of the Act of August 27, 2004 on health care services financed from public funds, authorized to issue prescriptions for free drugs, agents or devices is, among others, a doctor, but not every doctor, but only the one who has entered into a contract with the National Health Fund (NFZ) for the provision of health care services in one of three scopes: primary health care, outpatient specialized care or hospital treatment. Also authorized to issue such prescriptions are so-called "retired doctors" who issue prescriptions for themselves or their relatives and certain nurses. - In view of this wording of the regulations, the above-mentioned prescriptions cannot be issued by physicians who provide health care services under any contracts other than those pertaining to the above-mentioned ranges of services (including, for example, psychiatric care and addiction treatment, dental treatment, palliative and hospice care, etc.), as well as physicians who have not entered into any contracts with the NFZ, i.e. physicians acting as entities performing medical activities in the form of private practices," reads the justification.

The Ministry is proposing to expand the group of people authorized to issue prescriptions for free drugs. This will be able to be done by any person with the right to prescribe resulting directly from their medical profession, if this right is enshrined in the regulations governing the practice of this profession, the impact assessment reads. The cost of amending the regulations, i.e. increasing the NHF's reimbursement expenses, is estimated by the health ministry at PLN 270 million.