883.6 thousand Poles in queue for one benefit. Alarming data in the National Health Fund report

At the end of 2024, the largest number of patients in Poland were waiting for physiotherapy treatments, magnetic resonance imaging, colonoscopy and computed tomography, which shows the persistent problem of long queues
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Average waiting times for specialist tests are among the longest in Europe, according to the European Health Consumer Index 2024 report

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At the end of 2024, it was checked how many people in Poland are waiting for important tests and medical procedures. The data was collected from clinics and hospitals and presented in the Report on the activities of the National Health Fund for the fourth quarter of 2024.

They show that most patients who are in a stable condition (i.e. do not require immediate assistance, but must be treated) were waiting for:

physiotherapy treatments and exercises – as many as 883.6 thousand people,
magnetic resonance imaging – 223.3 thousand people,
colonoscopy (examination of the large intestine) – 182.2 thousand people,
computed tomography – 139.6 thousand people,
making dentures (e.g. dental) – 127.3 thousand people,
gastroscopy (stomach examination) – 108.6 thousand people.

The same tests and procedures (except for gastroscopy) were the most popular a year earlier, at the end of 2023. This shows that despite the passage of time, the queues for these services are still very long.

At the same time, we are observing changes in the settlement of cross-border benefits. In 2024, the number of settlement forms issued related to actual costs increased by 12.05% compared to the previous year. At the same time, the value of benefits costs shown on E 125 PL forms, sent to other EU and EFTA countries, increased by 25.43%.

It is worth noting that although other countries also sent claims against Poland, their value increased by only 1.29%, and the number of documents attached to the notes decreased by 4.76%. This indicates a slightly smaller burden of claims on Poland in relation to the dynamics of our own submissions to other countries.

From the perspective of access to services abroad, it is significant that the provincial branches of the National Health Fund issued 13.98% more certificates in 2024 enabling the use of health care services in kind in the EU, EFTA and Great Britain.

The growing interest in treatment abroad is also reflected in the data on reimbursements . The number of applications for reimbursement of treatment costs abroad, based on Article 42b of the Act on healthcare services financed from public funds, increased by 17.83 percent compared to the previous year. In total, the National Health Fund received 14,197 such applications, covering the amount of PLN 49,599.48 thousand.

Nearly half of these applications (48.43%) were submitted to the Silesian Voivodeship Branch of the National Health Fund, which confirms the significant scale of patient migration in this region in search of faster or better quality medical assistance.

Based on the cases reviewed, the Fund made payments in relation to 13,637 applications for a total amount of PLN 40,521.32 thousand. The increase in payments amounted to almost 10 percent in terms of the number of cases and almost 20 percent in terms of the value of funds paid out compared to the previous year.

Treatment in the Czech Republic stands out in particular – as many as 95.78% of all applications that ended with payment concerned services provided in its territory. Moreover, 97.17% of the total value of the Fund's payments for 2024 was related to medical services in the Czech Republic. The most common service for which patients applied for reimbursement was cataract surgery , which accounted for over 90% of settled services.

These trends show not only the scale of difficulties in accessing certain procedures in Poland, but also the growing willingness of patients to exercise their right to cross-border treatment within the European Union.

According to the European Health Consumer Index 2024 report, Poland is still below the EU average in terms of availability of specialist healthcare , and the average waiting time for services such as MRI or colonoscopy is one of the longest in Europe.