. 2017 Aug 2;5(3):43. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy5030043

Table 1.

Changes in the pharmacy practice in Poland—highlights.

Highlights
The introduction of pharmaceutical care to the Polish health care system will contribute to the consolidation of the pharmacist’s role and the place of pharmacies in Poland. Pharmaceutical care in Poland is to become a service reimbursable from public funds, particularly among patients with chronic diseases as well as the geriatric population. Implementation of the list of free-of-charge medicines for the elderly may lead to an improved adherence. However, this change should be the first step on the long path to solving the problem of non-adherence among Polish patients. The party most active in promoting the increasing role of the pharmacist in Poland remains The National Pharmaceutical Chamber. Some of the self-government’s demands are subject to intense criticism, especially in the context of the compatibility of the proposed amendments to the Constitution and the principle of economic freedom. An important challenge—to date discussed in the public debate to a small extent—is the implementation of provisions of the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and the harmonization of national legislation with EU regulations into the Polish legal system.

Highlights

The introduction of pharmaceutical care to the Polish health care system will contribute to the consolidation of the pharmacist’s role and the place of pharmacies in Poland.
Pharmaceutical care in Poland is to become a service reimbursable from public funds, particularly among patients with chronic diseases as well as the geriatric population.
Implementation of the list of free-of-charge medicines for the elderly may lead to an improved adherence. However, this change should be the first step on the long path to solving the problem of non-adherence among Polish patients.
The party most active in promoting the increasing role of the pharmacist in Poland remains The National Pharmaceutical Chamber. Some of the self-government’s demands are subject to intense criticism, especially in the context of the compatibility of the proposed amendments to the Constitution and the principle of economic freedom.
An important challenge—to date discussed in the public debate to a small extent—is the implementation of provisions of the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and the harmonization of national legislation with EU regulations into the Polish legal system.