Assessing Recent Efforts to Improve Organization of Cancer Care in Poland: What Does the Evidence Tell Us?

Anna Sagan, Iwona Kowalska-Bobko, Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka, Tomasz Holecki, Adam Maciejczyk and Martin McKee
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Anna Sagan: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, UK
Iwona Kowalska-Bobko: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University, 31-067 Krakow, Poland
Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka: Institute of Healthcare Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Lazarski University, 02-662 Warsaw, Poland
Tomasz Holecki: Department of Economic and Management in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences in Bytom, University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-902 Bytom, Poland
Adam Maciejczyk: Lower Silesian Oncology Centre, 53-413 Wroclaw, Poland
Martin McKee: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-11

Abstract: Poland has implemented two major organizational changes in recent years to improve cancer care. In 2015, a dedicated ‘fast pathway’ to diagnostics and treatment was implemented for patients suspected of having cancer. In 2019, the National Oncology Network began pilots in four regions of care pathways for cancer at five sites. Neither has been evaluated—no baseline information was collected, and what assessments were undertaken were limited to process measures. While the 2019 initiative was at least piloted, a national rollout has been announced even while the pilot is still ongoing and when concerns about certain aspects of the model have been raised. Given that cancer is the second largest cause of death in Poland and that cancer outcomes are worse compared to Western European averages, there is a particular need to ensure that models of care are informed by the evidence and adapted to the realities of the Polish healthcare system.

Keywords: cancer care; healthcare; coordination; integrated care; Poland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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