Health Minister Unveils Radical Overhaul of Hospital Salary and Scheduling Systems

Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda announced a sweeping reform of Poland’s healthcare sector on Wednesday, targeting excessive medical salaries, hospital spending limits, and the implementation of a new centralized digital patient queuing system.

Ending Wage Extremes

The Ministry of Health plans to introduce caps on individual physician earnings and hospital spending funded by the National Health Fund (NFZ). This corrective plan follows a directive from Prime Minister Donald Tusk, sparked by public outrage over the exorbitant earnings of a 28-year-old doctor at the Warsaw South Hospital.

The government is establishing a maximum remuneration limit for medical staff, setting a baseline of 240 PLN gross per hour for contract work, which translates to roughly 40,000 PLN gross for a full-time equivalent. Currently, salary costs account for an average of 81.3 percent of hospital budgets financed by the NFZ.

Transparency and Employment Reforms

Minister Sobierańska-Grenda announced that all hospitals funded by the NFZ will be legally required to hold open tenders and publicly disclose the terms and rates for all external medical service contracts. This move aims to eliminate “suitcase practices,” where doctors operate across multiple facilities to maximize earnings through high-value procedures.

Strict controls on physician work schedules are also forthcoming. Medical personnel will be required to hold at least a half-time position at a primary hospital, with any additional employment at other entities requiring formal approval from their primary employer.

Digital Patient Management

The Ministry is fast-tracking the implementation of a central e-registration system and an entirely new “e-queue” portal to manage elective procedures. This tool is designed to allow patients to track their position in line and identify facilities where treatments can be performed most efficiently.

The Health Minister confirmed that the central e-queue system is scheduled for full deployment by the end of this year. These changes are intended to address the current lack of transparency and high emotions surrounding patient wait times for elective surgery.