Wojciech Giermaziak

Health care in state collective farms in the post-war period in “The rural medicine journal”

State Collective Farms (PGR) were established in Poland after the Second World War. Their employees were covered by free health care provided by rural health centres. The knowledge gained from a search of medical bibliographies provided little insight into the subject. On the other hand, an analysis of the contents of “The Rural Medicine” scientific journal (1963–1994) provided valuable information. The information obtained from the journal made it possible to visualise the social and living situation of State Collective Farm (PGR) employees, the state of hygiene of their dwellings and workplaces and the health care provided to them. The state of health care provided to the farm workers during the mentioned above period was unsatisfactory due to the shortage of qualified medical staff as well as the insufficient number of health centres, the lack of housing and means of transport for the employed. However, in accordance with the principles of the national class policy applied at the time, employees of State Collective Farms were favoured through the organisation of tiny and greater health centres at farm premises. The employees were also given priority in the use of services provided by other than local health centres, as well as additional medical care during the period of field work, etc.

The principles of pharmaceutical reimbursement in the Polish health care system - overview of changes after implementation of the pharmaceutical reimbursement law and analysis of their impact on the physician-patient relationships

A very important new law (the Reimbursement Law) has been implemented in Poland on turn of years 2011 and 2012 and it has deeply changed the national pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policy. The aim of this paper is to characterize the current status of affairs in this area and also to analyze the influence of changes on relationship between physicians and patients. The implementation of the Reimbursement Law has had a multifaceted impact on the Polish health care system and it has interfered relationships among its stakeholders. Several amendments to the new law are being expected in the forthcoming years, so all relevant experiences of the various stakeholders should be taken into due consideration during further pharmaceutical policy reforms. Appropriate preparations should be made beforehand, involving not only the state regulator and the public payer.