Managing Cystic Fibrosis in Polish Healthcare

Abstract

The quality and length of life of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are determined by a number of factors including the quality of healthcare received by patients, as well as access to drug programs dedicated to this particular disease. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of changes in the average life expectancy and mortality rate of the CF population in Poland between 2000 and 2018. Furthermore, we would like to evaluate access to healthcare services, including the drug program, guaranteed by public healthcare system, and funded by National Health Fund (NHF). The average life expectancy of patients with CF increased in the period in question from ca. 14.5 ± 7.6–24.5 ± 8.9 years (mean ± SD, p = 0.0001). We have observed a drop in the number of deaths in paediatric age during that period. Despite the increase in life expectancy, the use of health resources in patients with CF, especially the drug program, is dramatically low. Considering the fact that in Poland there was no active countrywide CF registry, now it is possible to estimate the frequency of use of CF healthcare services in various provinces exclusively on the basis of database maintained by the Polish NHF.