The introduction of new legislative arrangements reduces the administrative burden in general outpatient care and increases the comfort of patients. The measures aim at more effective management of prescription and broadening the scope of visits to specialised offices without the need for an exchange ticket.
Prescription of medicinal products when a patient is released from hospital for a maximum of 28 days
- Legislation: § 9 paragraph 9 point. b) Law 576/2004 Z. z. z.
- Change: When dismissing a person from institutional care, the treating physician shall prescribe to the person the necessary medicinal products, medical devices and dietary foods for a maximum of 28 days following release from institutional care and record this fact in the release report. Patients released from the hospital thus instead of providing medication for 3 days, will be prescribed medication for a period of 28 days.
- The treatment increases the comfort of the patient and its family members while reducing the strain on general ambulances to prescribe medicines after hospitalization.
Extension of the deadline for recommending a prescription from a specialist
- Laws: § 119 paragraph 13 point. (a) Law No 362/2011 Z. z. z.
- Change: A general physician or a pediatrician is entitled to prescribe a medicinal product for human use, a medical device or a dietary food which is linked to the professional competence of a physician, on the advice of a specialist for a maximum of 12 months. The modification extends the period for recommending the prescription of medicinal products from a specialist to a general physician to 12 months.
- The modification allows general practitioners and pediatricians in general offices to prescribe also medicinal products with a prescription restriction without the need for frequent doctor visits in a specialised practice.
Preventive tour in a specialised office without an exchange ticket
- Legislation: Paragraph 8 (5) (g) of Law No 576/2004 Z. z. z.
- Change: A general doctor's recommendation (exchange card) or an electronic record of the doctor's recommendation for specialised outpatient care is not required to provide preventive care in a specialised practice. Thus, from 1.1.2025 onwards, there is no need for an exchange ticket from a general physician for a preventive urological and gastroenterological examination.
- The modification reduces the administrative burden for general practitioners.
Visit to a specialised office without an exchange ticket within 2 years of the last visit
- Legislation: § 8 paragraph 5 point. (d) Law No 576/2004 Z. z. z.
- Change: A general doctor's recommendation (interchange card) or an electronic record of a doctor's recommendation for specialised outpatient care is not required in case of dispensation or if healthcare has been provided in a specialised practice in the last two years for the same diagnosis. This means that patients can visit a specialised ambulance without an exchange ticket from a general doctor if less than 2 years have elapsed since their last visit to the same specialist diagnosis.
- The adjustment addresses situations where the patient gets worse on the condition for which he is already being treated in a specialised practice within 2 years of the last visit to the specialist, so that he does not have to visit the general office only because of the request for an exchange ticket. The modification also reduces the administrative burden for general practitioners.
These measures reflect the need to reduce the burden on general offices, to streamline healthcare provision and to increase patient satisfaction. The changes introduced allow easier access to healthcare and are a further step towards reducing unnecessary bureaucracy in the outpatient sector