National Oncology Council is being formed

The establishment of the National Oncology Council is provided for in the Law on the National Oncology Network. The Council is to act as an opinion and advisory body for the Minister of Health and the President of the National Health Fund. Its duties include giving an opinion on diagnostic and treatment guidelines and organizational standards in oncology, preparing proposals for key indicators of the quality of oncology care, conducting quality assessments of the NSO's performance, and verifying that entities qualified for the oncology network achieve an appropriate level of quality of care.

The term of office of the NRO is six years. It is composed of ten members:

• four experts in the fields of medicine and the fields of social sciences: clinical oncology, radiation oncology, pathomorphology, economics and finance - designated by the Minister of Health;
• A representative of the National Monitoring Center (KOM);
• representative of the Provincial Monitoring Centers (WOM) - designated by the Minister of Health;
• NFZ representative;
• A representative of the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tarification;
• A representative of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Medical Universities;
• A representative of patient organizations - designated by the Patient Ombudsman.

According to the draft regulation, the Council's meetings are to be held at least 10 times a calendar year (stationary, but also via ICT systems), the maximum number of meetings has been set at 36. The Council adopts opinions in the form of resolutions, which are adopted by a simple majority in the presence (or participation - in the case of remote meetings) of at least half of its members. Council meetings may be attended in an advisory capacity by persons invited by the Chairman of the Council.

According to the KSO Law, Council members are entitled to remuneration for participation in meetings, not exceeding PLN 3,500 per meeting, but no more than PLN 10,500 per month. The rates provided for in the draft regulation are slightly lower: PLN 3,000 for the Council chairman, PLN 2,700 for the vice-chairman, and PLN 2,500 for other Council members.

Representatives of patient organizations are encouraged to apply by the Patient Ombudsman, reminding that the deadline is May 8. The candidate can be a person who is active in the field of oncology care, is familiar with oncology regulations, and in his activities in patient organizations undertakes activities in the field of health promotion, public education and health prevention.

The draft was released for public consultation on May 4. There are 14 calendar days to submit comments.