Development of telemedicine in Poland - organizational, ethical and communication challenges

We are witnessing a revolution in the field of telemedicine, which has begun to be used in every medical specialty. The aim of the review is to identify and summarise ethical and communication challenges related to the development of telemedicine in Poland.

Scientific articles found in the electronic databases PubMed and ScienceDirect were analyzed using key words: telemedicine; Distance Counseling; e-Health Service and Digital Health Technology. Guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and the General Medical Council (GMC) were taken into account. Data is presented on e-services of the Ministry of Health, the E-Health Centre and National Health Fund.

According to data from the National Health Fund, since 2020, the percentage of online consultation provided in Primary Health Care and Specialist Outpatient Care has been decreasing. In Poland, the potential resulting from the development of e-services is still untapped. The introduction of e-prescription and e-referral is convenient for the patient and staff, but does not have a health effect.

In order to improve the efficiency of the health care system, it is necessary to focus on the further development of new e-services. It is worth introducing solutions that allow the use of medical data and test results to relieve the patient of the burden of transferring medical records to subsequent doctors. It is necessary to develop a standard for the provision of teleconsultations in order to eliminate pathological prescription issuance through online platforms providing consultations. Remote provision of medical services also requires further development of the digital competences of both staff and patients.