Conditions for introducing a new medical profession (physician assistant) in the polish health care system

Shortage of medical staff is a growing problem in most countries, also in Poland. There is a growing demand for medical staff in connection with longer life expectancy and on a macro scale, the aging of society. An important idea for reducing this problem is to introduce new medical professions. However, this issue arouses controversy and opinions on it are divided. The paper presents data on the number of physicians in Poland compared to other European countries and discusses selected proposals related to attempts to improve the situation in this area. Reference has also been made to the example of the United States, where physician assistants have been functioning for many years. Moreover, the current outline of a proposal for the occupation of a physician assistant in Poland has been presented, with particular emphasis on specialization in “surgical physician assistance”. The paper also presents the results of the author’s study on the attitude of primary care physicians towards new medical professions and refers to the opinions of the medical community in this respect, mainly from websites. Finally, the paper presents conclusions and recommendations for further actions related to the introduction of new medical professions in the country.

Shortage of medical staff is a growing problem in most countries, also in Poland. There is a growing demand for medical staff in connection with longer life expectancy and on a macro scale, the aging of society. An important idea for reducing this problem is to introduce new medical professions. However, this issue arouses controversy and opinions on it are divided. The paper presents data on the number of physicians in Poland compared to other European countries and discusses selected proposals related to attempts to improve the situation in this area. Reference has also been made to the example of the United States, where physician assistants have been functioning for many years. Moreover, the current outline of a proposal for the occupation of a physician assistant in Poland has been presented, with particular emphasis on specialization in “surgical physician assistance”. The paper also presents the results of the author’s study on the attitude of primary care physicians towards new medical professions and refers to the opinions of the medical community in this respect, mainly from websites. Finally, the paper presents conclusions and recommendations for further actions related to the introduction of new medical professions in the country.