"I just go for a prescription...". Meanwhile, the range of examinations and advice at the POZ is getting wider and wider

Dr. Agata Slawin, Family Physician Practice in Kielczow and Pisarzowice, Lower Silesia Province:

- When going to see your primary care doctor, you need to be prepared. Know exactly what medications you are taking, in what doses, for how long and who prescribed them. You can make a list of all the medications you are taking that have been ordered by other specialists - check for interactions. You also need to bring the results of tests ordered by other doctors. It's also important to bring your medical records - preferably in chronological order so that you don't waste time paging through piles of documents during your visit. It is also a good idea to write down the issues we want to discuss during the visit. It is also very important for us to have information from an emergency visit to the Night and Day Health Care or private offices, this is often crucial when planning treatment, including the next antibiotic therapy. Lack of this information for patients, especially the youngest, can even pose a health risk. It is a big help if the doctor reports the visit in the e-health system (P1). I hope this will soon be standard. It's much easier to coordinate patient care this way, as family doctors have more and more authority, can order more tests and consult other specialists when patients' health conditions require it.

Doctor Wojciech Pacholicki of the Gołębiów Clinic in Radom:

- What annoys us most are the visits - I just get a prescription, a referral. Often, after a medical history, it turns out that the patient needs very advanced treatment and in-depth diagnostics. We have more and more options to help patients. Within the budget of entrusted coordinated care, we can refer our patients for many specialized tests, which can be performed at any facility that has a contract with the National Health Service. But the most important thing in our health system is that patients come to the offices of PCPs for advice, not for a prescription or referral for specific tests.

Nowadays, the PCP can also refer, for example, for spirometry, fine-needle biopsy of the thyroid gland, ECHO of the heart, exercise ECG or Holter. They may also be offered advice from a nutritionist, where they will learn that a daily walk is a must, because physical activity is health, and that being overweight and obese is a serious disease and a change in diet is necessary. At PCP offices, patients can also talk about preventive care - such as flu, Covid and HPV vaccinations - the latest offerings available from June 2023 at PCP offices. Programs for specific patient groups are also now available: 40 PLUS, CVD - or cardiovascular disease. You can also get information about other preventive examinations - from cytology, which can be done in the office of a POZ midwife who is authorized to take smears, to specialized examinations - colonoscopy, gastroscopy or low-dose CT for smokers. All of this is in many PCP clinics. The range of tests and advice is growing.