The European Journal of Health Economics

, Volume 8, Issue 4, pp 347–357 | Cite as

Assessment of the pharmaceutical market in Poland after accession to the European Union

Pricing and Reimbursement Systems in Europe
First Online:

Abstract

The Republic of Poland joined the European Union (EU) on 1 May 2004. The EU accession brought new opportunities to the Polish health care system and the pharmaceutical market. However, there are still barriers to overcome such as bureaucracy, lack of transparency in pricing and reimbursement, decision-making processes, the short period of data exclusivity, respect for intellectual property rights, favorisation of local companies and low health care investment. Additionally, drug costs outpace overall economic development, a trend which is universally valid for almost all EU countries and which forms one of the most serious factors in health care expenditure. A systematic cost-effective assessment, the so-called fourth hurdle (after quality, efficacy and safety), of prescription drugs seems a necessity in most EU countries. The Polish Ministry of Health has defined aims for the future health care system in the National Drug Policy 2004–2008, including health economical criteria and instruments. However, it is to be expected that for some time there will be more a reimbursement hurdle instead of a fourth hurdle in controlling drug expenditure. This review focuses on the Polish pharmaceutical market with special consideration of the history of the Polish health care system. It will highlight the present situation of the Polish health care system after EU accession and provide an outlook to its possible future.

Keywords

Poland European Union Health care Pharmaceutical market Fourth hurdle Reimbursement 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the Pharmacoeconomy Department of GlaxoSmithKline S.A., Warszawa, Poland for their very generous help and open discussion. The author is grateful to Frank Perabo for critical reading and his suggestions.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2007

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Postgradual Study Course of Public Health and EpidemiologyLudwigs-Maximilians-UniversityMunichGermany
  2. 2.StarnbergGermany

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