Poland needs a long‑term health strategy — only then can healthcare become a driver of economic growth and a guarantee of national security.
From the perspective of innovative pharmaceutical companies, we observe numerous challenges currently facing the healthcare system. Polish society, following the broader European trend, is steadily aging, and the number of cancers and other lifestyle-related diseases is increasing. At the same time, national policy is drawing attention to the need to focus on issues of security and state stability in a dynamic geopolitical situation.
Public health is also an element of national security. The COVID-19 pandemic showed how important cooperation between industry, and the healthcare system is. To support economic growth and increase tax revenues, European countries must invest in citizens’ health and well‑being. It is necessary to create a comprehensive, resilient healthcare system that will prevent disease, treat it, and also provide care after treatment ends — in this context, recently announced priorities of the Ministry of Health, such as digitization, e-registration, prevention, and improved quality of communication with patients, are intended to help achieve these goals and tangibly increase patient safety and comfort.
A key element appearing in most expert recommendations in healthcare is a shift of emphasis from treatment to prevention and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Economic studies show clearly — each unit of capital invested in prevention yields a fourteenfold return in economic benefits. Screening programs, actions supporting smoking cessation, or proactive initiatives in physical activity can significantly reduce sickness absence and raise worker productivity. Preventive vaccinations, including HPV prevention, are a key investment in public health. Experts recommend expanding the cohort in Preventive Vaccination Programme to ages 9–18 — an action that will increase the effectiveness of the program to eliminate certain diseases caused by the HPV virus, including cervical cancer. We must ensure a high vaccination rate through easy access, reliable education, and continuous monitoring of outcomes. Preventing HPV‑related cancers is not only a public health issue but also an opportunity to meaningfully reduce costs for the healthcare system associated with cancer treatment. Meanwhile, in Poland we still allocate too little funding to preventive actions — for example, vaccinations account for only 2% of health expenditures.
According to the law, health spending should amount to 7% of GDP — this target has not been achieved so far. Additionally, the “t‑2” mechanism, which links expenditures to the GDP indicator from two years earlier, impedes a rapid response to the system’s needs. Experts estimate that although planned health expenditures for next year, calculated according to the statutory methodology, will amount to 6.83% of GDP, if one compares GDP and expenditures from the same year (as is done in international comparisons and analyses of defense spending), health spending will reach 5.97% of GDP. We need more flexible and predictable financing mechanisms and instruments that support prevention and innovation.
Author: Justin Gandy, Managing Director, MSD Polska
