Poland has set out the main directions for its next State Pharmaceutical Policy, developing a system-wide framework for medicine access, public expenditure, evidence use and institutional responsibilities. The Ministry of Health (Ministerstwo Zdrowia, MZ) presented seven strategic areas at the Economic Forum in Karpacz on 9 September. The policy remains under development, with completion planned during 2026.
The framework succeeds the State Pharmaceutical Policy 2018–2022, which combined expansion of reimbursed access with optimisation of public spending, pharmaceutical-sector development, rational pharmacotherapy and greater use of information systems. Since September 2018, MZ says 784 new technologies have entered reimbursement – four times the number added between introduction of the Reimbursement Act and the previous policy.
The new framework retains access as a central objective but places greater emphasis on managing the expanded reimbursement system. Its seven areas cover reimbursement and market availability, optimisation of public-payer expenditure, medicines security and pharmaceutical-sector development, adherence and waste reduction, institutional responsibilities, health-professional roles and greater use of technology.
The access proposals include simplifying drug programmes, reducing administrative requirements and orientating them more closely around patients and treatment outcomes. Material presented at Karpacz also set an objective of processing reimbursement applications for new therapies within 180 days and placing Poland among the ten leading EU countries for availability of new therapies.
MZ is also considering significant changes to medicines financing. The proposals would replace the existing statutory formula allowing up to 17% of National Health Fund expenditure on guaranteed healthcare services to be allocated to reimbursement with a multi-year financial plan. Funding for community-pharmacy reimbursement would be planned separately from drug programmes and chemotherapy. The proposals also envisage changes to payback and greater recycling of savings generated through risk-sharing agreements into medicines funding.
Data use forms another major strand. MZ wants to link currently dispersed data on reimbursement, prescribing, dispensing, treatment pathways and healthcare utilisation. These data could support faster assessment of effectiveness in routine practice, pharmaceutical-expenditure monitoring, identification of supply risks and planning of patient needs. The Ministry also envisages wider use of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence.
The emerging policy therefore shifts the focus beyond successive reimbursement-list expansions towards longer-term management of access, financing and treatment outcomes. The effect on reimbursement processes and commercial conditions will depend on the final policy and subsequent legislative and administrative measures.
Source: Ministry of Health, Poland
Link: Polityka Lekowa Państwa na lata 2027-2032 - kierunki na najbliższe 5 lat jednym z głównych tematów Forum Ekonomicznego w Karpaczu (State Pharmaceutical Policy 2027–2032 – directions for the next five years among the main topics at the Economic Forum in Karpacz)
Date: 9 September 2026
Source: Cowzdrowiu
Link: Refundacja w 180 dni. Ministerstwo Zdrowia wyznacza cele do 2032 r. (Reimbursement within 180 days: Ministry of Health sets objectives to 2032)
Date: 9 September 2026
Source: Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Poland
Link: Polityka lekowa państwa 2018-2022 (State Pharmaceutical Policy 2018–2022)
Date: 18 September 2018
