The Health Care Quality and Patient Safety Act, coordination of treatment and the Compensation Fund were among the key issues at this year's Health Care Forum. "We need to start paying for quality. Those facilities that have quality at a high level will be better paid. Those that are at a lower level will have to step up. In my opinion, this is one of the most important laws in health care"- emphasised Patient Ombudsman Bartłomiej Chmielowiec.
The Law on Quality in Health Care and Patient Safety was one of the main health topics. Bartlomiej Chmielowiec pointed out that the biggest challenge is to pass it and introduce a so-called culture of safety into the healthcare system. "It is not the case that any document will suddenly force massive changes. You have to prepare for them, you have to want to change the approach to the diagnostic and therapeutic process and to patients, but you also have to educate the public about the protection of their own health, prevention, patient rights and duties". - he added.
In the 'Rzeczpospolita' debate, the Patient Ombudsman said, among other things, that we should move towards changes that ensure patient coordination - both in the therapeutic and systemic context. The patient should be guided within the system, educated in health. The experts discussed what conditions need to be in place to make the health care system sustainable and crisis-proof.
In addition to the Act, experts commented, among other things, on the Polish vaccination system. The Ombudsman repeatedly pointed to a problem in communication, both between institutions and between institutions and the patient. "Chaos was particularly evident when registering group 1B (high-risk group) for COVID19 vaccination. Messages were incomprehensible, illegible. People did not know if they were eligible for this group, who had a referral issued and who should be qualified by a doctor, where they should report, who had the right to write a referral for vaccination. We had hundreds of calls every day to the Telephone Patient Information Line, we published messages that were written in simple, accessible language, we explained to people what to do," he - he explained.
Another important element of the discussions was the Compensation Fund, i.e. compensation for adverse vaccination reactions. The spokesperson pointed out that the criteria for their award are not exorbitant, especially if we consider other European Union countries. "In some countries, the criterion is, for example, permanent damage to health. The Polish legislation does not include a similar condition, the criteria are much more lenient," he added.
"I am very pleased that we can engage in discussions on issues important to patients in a broad setting - involving policy makers, patient organisations, medical staff and health system experts. We have a common goal that we want to achieve, and that is to improve quality in healthcare and patient safety." - Chmielowiec concluded.
Source: www.gov.pl/web/rpp