Although oncological treatment in Poland is financed by the National Health Fund, not every patient can count on access to free therapy and drugs. In such a situation, is private treatment the only solution? Not necessarily. Check whether you are eligible for reimbursement of oncology drugs and what the RDTL procedure is.
Rapid diagnosis and therapy for cancer patients
Cancer patients are on the rise. The problem of long queues and overcrowded clinics is to be solved by the DiLO card. A patient who receives it from a doctor can count on a quick diagnosis and a convening of a consortium that will decide on his treatment.
Cancer treatment on the National Health Service is provided in various ways - it all depends on the stage of the disease and the patient's condition. Medical care can be provided on an outpatient basis, as part of one-day services or hospitalization. Oncology patients are entitled to, among other things, reimbursed cancer drugs in Poland, care from a treatment coordinator or rehabilitation stays. And while, in theory, an insured person can count on the National Health Fund for help, in practice, the available free treatments are not always sufficient. Let's start with the basics, namely chemotherapy.
Is chemotherapy reimbursed in Poland?
Yes, reimbursement of chemotherapy in Poland is a guaranteed benefit for insured persons. In the course of chemotherapy, the patient is administered drugs from the catalog of reimbursed drugs or active substances from the catalog of reimbursed active substances. Chemotherapy is only one of the possible methods of cancer treatment. Depending on the patient's condition, chemotherapy may be combined with other therapies or its administration will not be carried out at all.
Are oncology drugs reimbursed in Poland?
Yes, oncology patients receive reimbursed drugs for cancer in Poland. Unfortunately, not all drugs are covered by reimbursement or the proposed treatment under the NHF is not sufficient to improve the patient's condition. The Minister of Health decides which oncology drugs are reimbursed, preceding his decision with opinions from the Transparency Council, national consultants in the relevant fields of medicine and the Patient Ombudsman. The rules for reimbursement of oncology drugs are clearly defined - a drug can be reimbursed if it is:
- approved for marketing,
- available on the market,
- has a GTIN (Global Trade Unit Number) code.
Refunded cancer drugs in Poland must also be drugs of appropriate therapeutic value. When choosing a particular preparation, the safety of its use and the cost of the therapy itself, among other things, are also taken into account.
As for the reimbursement itself, it can be total - the patient receives the drug free of charge. Some drugs are available for a fixed flat fee, while others are available for a co-payment (the patient pays part of the amount for the drug).
What new cancer drugs are reimbursed in Poland?
The List of Refunded Medicines is updated regularly. The Notice of the Minister of Health on Refunded Medicines, Foodstuffs for Special Nutritional Purposes and Medical Devices is published on the government website of the Ministry of Health several times a year (in January, April, July and October).
For example, in Announcement No. 80, effective from October 2025, in accordance with the decision of the Minister of Health, the List of Refunded Medicines increased by 22 new oncological indications, mainly including gynecological diseases, hematooncology and respiratory cancers. In 2025, the Refunded Medicines List gained a total of 63 new oncology indications (the list also includes non-oncology indications and rare diseases).
Who is entitled to drug reimbursement?
Reimbursement of cancer drugs is available to people with the right to publicly funded health care services. In short, you must be insured. For both pharmacy reimbursement and enrollment in a drug program, this is the basic eligibility criterion for a patient to be eligible for NHF-funded treatment.
Check: what benefits and allowances is a cancer patient entitled to?
How to get reimbursed for cancer drugs?
You do not need to fill out any applications or questionnaires. A prescription for reimbursable cancer drugs in Poland is issued by a doctor who cooperates with a NFZ facility. It is also important to choose the pharmacy where you will buy the drugs. The facility must have a contract to sell reimbursed drugs - this information should be visible on the pharmacy's website.
What if your drug is not covered by reimbursement?
In this case, patients can apply for qualification for clinical trials or a drug program to take part in modern cancer therapies, or take advantage of unreimbursed drugs. Funds for the purchase of the latter can be raised, for example, through online collections for cancer patients. The Cancer Fighters foundation also organizes relief campaigns for cancer patients - thanks to the support of donors, cancer patients have a chance to start treatment that saves their health or life.
Check: How to organize an effective collection for the treatment of a sick person.
Reimbursement of oncology drugs vs. drug program
If a drug is not covered by standard reimbursement, there is still a chance to get it free of charge. How? Check the available drug programs. These make it possible to reimburse modern cancer therapies, including immunotherapy or targeted therapy. This opens up new opportunities for many patients for whom standard treatment is not sufficient.
Participation in a drug program can be suggested to you by your doctor, or you can independently search for a center that implements a drug program for patients with a particular type of cancer. You can find a list of drug programs on the NHF's website and at the NHF's provincial offices.
Can every cancer patient participate in the drug program?
Unfortunately, no. To get into the drug program, a cancer patient must meet specific criteria. Specialists take into account the stage of the disease, the patient's age and health status, as well as the treatment methods used so far. The idea is to select a group of patients who have the best chance of better outcomes by participating in the program. Once a patient is qualified for the program, they receive free treatment. It is worth mentioning that there are also criteria for excluding a patient from the program, such as the lack of effect of the treatment used.
Reimbursement of oncology treatment in RDTL procedure
RDTL, or Rescue Access to Drug Technology, allows individualized therapy to be tailored to the needs of the cancer patient. It's a procedure that patients can take advantage of:
- For whom publicly funded treatment options have already been exhausted or are ineffective,
- For whom receiving an unreimbursed drug may result in improved health.
If the above conditions are met, the application for reimbursement of drugs for oncology patients is issued by a doctor from a hospital/center with a contract with the National Health Service. To speed up the procedure, the documents are submitted electronically - through the portal application CBWiD (Central Database of Applications and Decisions). Once the patient receives approval from the Minister for reimbursement of a particular drug, the cost of its administration is covered by the NHF.
Reimbursement of cancer drugs is a several-stage process. Each new product or indication on the List of Reimbursed Drugs is a chance for a better life for many patients. If your drug is not reimbursed, ask your doctor about other reimbursable therapies or the possibility of qualifying for a drug program or clinical trials. Need help and informational support? Get in touch with us!
Bibliography
- Refund, gov.co.uk, date received. 29.09.2025r.
- Drug programs, gov.pl, date accessed. 29.09.2025r.
- Jaroslaw Gosinski, Emergency Access to Drug Technologies - RDTL procedure, zwrotnikraka.pl, accessed. 29.09.2025r.
- Drug program descriptions, nfz-bialystok.pl, accessed. 29.09.2025r.
- Chemotherapy, nfz-warsaw.co.uk, date received. 29.09.2025r.
