TRAVEL & TURYSTYKA LEISURE I WYPOCZYNEK Poland a hotspot for medical tourism Ta b l e
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Business Hotels in Poland .................................170 Passenger Airlines Serving Poland ....................172 Travel Management Companies ........................174 18 – Hole Golf Courses in Poland ......................176
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Hotele biznesowe w Polsce ................................170 Linie lotnicze obsługujące Polskę .......................172 Firmy travel management ..................................174 18 – dołkowe pola golfowe w Polsce ..................176
If
you ask an average Pole about his views on his country’s health care system, you are likely to get an answer such as “bad”, or even “terrible.” In a recent poll by TNS Polska, 75 percent of respondents described the condition of Polish health care as poor. On the other hand, in 2011 alone, foreigners spent PLN 800 million in medical facilities in Poland, according to Medi-Tour, a travel
agency specializing in medical tourism. Analysts estimate that the sector is expanding at a double-digit growth rate each year. Poles and foreigners view Polish health care differently because these two groups of patients do not usually visit the same facilities. “In Poland, we have a system of public health care which is grossly ineffective, but we also have a number of private clinics,” said Ada Kostrz-Kostecka from the European Center for Enterprise. “These clinics were established to make up for the ineffectiveness of public hospitals. They were sometimes established by doctors who were looking for better sources of income and possibilities for development.” What lures foreigners to Poland are usually lower prices. According to a price list compiled by polandmedicaltourism.com, a dental implant costs on average $700 in Poland, while in the US and the UK it can exceed $4,000. Breast enlargement, another procedure popular with foreign patients, starts from $3,700 in Poland, compared to $10,000 in the US and $7,000 in the UK. However, low prices are not enough to convince Europeans to start booking operating rooms for elective surgical procedures. They must also be convinced that they’re putting their lives and well-being in capable hands. Fortunately, Polish medical staff is considered well-educated and very efficient. In fact, many hospitals in the EU have brought on highly qualified Polish medical personnel. Since Poland’s entry into the EU, thousands of doctors and dentists have been leaving the country every year to work in medical facilities in many European countries. That number has decreased in recent years, with 1,711 doctors leaving Poland in 2005 compared to only 270 in 2012. One of the reasons for the decrease is the fact that their salaries have finally caught up to Western European levels, so they’re not so keen to leave the country any more. Price competitiveness aside, Polish health care is also striving to be on the cutting edge of medical knowledge and research, and not without success. Its clinical trials sector is the largest in the CEE region, with a value estimated at PLN 1 billion. There are some 500 clinical trials conducted in Poland every year, with more medical research centers moving in every year. Some of the recent examples include AstraZeneca’s new pharmaceutical trials hub, and French Servier’s international clinical trial center, both located in Warsaw.
Jacek Ciesnowski
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