Less restrictions on free "OJ" and "S" prescriptions

421 deputies voted in favor of the law, 12 voted against and 11 abstained. The amendment to the Law on Publicly Funded Health Care Services and Certain Other Laws introduces provisions that are sure to be helpful to many patients using public and private health care.

The medical self-government has been pushing for these changes from the beginning, meeting with decision-makers and taking part in the legislative process of the law under discussion. The President of the Supreme Medical Council, Lukasz Jankowski, stresses that this is a great success for the medical self-government, as the law is a response to the needs of both patients and doctors. The Sejm's decision confirms the NRL's effectiveness in adapting the health care system to the real demands of society.

- This is a huge step forward that will certainly be helpful to many patients using public and private health care. It will enable doctors to perform their duties more easily and contribute to reducing queues in the system, which will certainly improve the quality of health care, " comments the NRL president.

The regulatory changes will allow doctors to issue prescriptions for free drugs also in psychiatric care, addiction treatment, dental treatment, as well as in palliative and hospice care. Until now, prescriptions for drugs on the "S" and "OJ" lists could only be issued by doctors with a contract with the National Health Service in primary care, outpatient specialized care or in a hospital.

- From the very beginning, as soon as this restriction came into force, we have reported that this is not only unfair to doctors, who are restricted in their rights to prescribe, but most importantly to patients, who are actually entitled to these free medicines," points out Klaudiusz Komor, vice president of the NRL, emphasizing in the video that fulfilling the demand of the medical self-government will help maintain the continuity of treatment.

Source: NIL press release