Participants in ‘Remote consultations and virtual clinics — what else is needed to develop telemedicine in Poland?’ discussed legal, financial and social barriers preventing telemedicine tools from becoming widespread.
The debate was part of the second scientific conference, ‘Innovation challenges for economics and law in healthcare’, held in Warsaw on 21 May. Alongside Prof. Piotr H. Skarżyński, representing the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth, participants included Prof. Irena Lipowicz, Head of the Department of Administrative Law and Local Government at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, and Dr Michał Florczak, Medical Director of Enel Med Medical Centre.
Participants reviewed Poland’s economic and legal situation in telemedicine, identifying numerous remaining barriers. Prof. Piotr H. Skarżyński presented successful telemedicine practices from other countries, described cooperation between Polish medical facilities and partners in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, and shared experience from African countries.
‘Medical facilities in these countries also benefit from telemedicine cooperation with European specialists through knowledge transfer. They seek partners offering medical know-how as well as specific patient solutions. Regular remote consultations with specialists from Poland, for example, improve local doctors’ knowledge and skills. Over time, they need our direct support less often because they can diagnose and introduce appropriate treatment independently in many cases,’ said Prof. Piotr H. Skarżyński.
The discussion also addressed healthcare costs resulting from failure to use cheaper, more effective telemedicine solutions, the lack of legally established arrangements for sharing responsibility, and continuing psychological barriers discouraging patients from medical innovation.
‘From the WHO perspective, we observe different systemic solutions implemented in many countries to encourage patients to use telemedicine. Switzerland offers a good example: people using telemedicine devices to monitor their health in real time receive health insurance discounts,’ added Prof. Skarżyński.
The conference was organised by the Department of Administrative Law and Local Government at the Faculty of Law and Administration, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, and the Department of Applied Economics at the Collegium of Management and Finance, SGH Warsaw School of Economics. Prawo.pl and Wolters Kluwer were patrons. A report on ‘Remote consultations and virtual clinics — what else is needed to develop telemedicine in Poland?’ is also available at https://www.prawo.pl/zdrowie/centra-telemedyczne-powinny-powstac-w-szpitalach-powiatowych,418728.html
