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A new law that came in to force on January 1 governing prescriptions and medication reimbursement is creating no end of confusion for patients, pharmacists and doctors alike.

According to the new legislation, doctors are obligated to verify and note on any prescriptions they issue the level of reimbursement that the patient is entitled to.

Doctors are protesting the changes, saying they create more red tape and leave less time for them to treat patients, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported. Many are therefore issuing prescriptions with the annotation “reimbursement to be decided by the NFZ” (National Health Fund), which in turn is not necessarily honored by pharmacies.

In effect, many frustrated patients end up paying the full price for medication that they should get with a discount.

Poland A.M.