Cheap flights, cheap treatment.
The hospitals in where foreign patients are to be treated have to meet the criteria required in the West. This applies equally to equipment, material and professional qualifications. Foreign insurers run scrupulous checks on the hospitals before reimbursing their patients for treatment undergone in Poland. In fact insurers are often happy to work together with Polish clinics.
This is particularly true in Germany, where treatment costs are considerably higher than in Poland. An insurance firm in Cologne has seen the benefit of collaborating like this with the Polish city of Łódź, something which is made easier by the introduction of cheap, direct flights between the two cities.
“We haven’t received anything in writing yet, but we intend to put something together. The staff and equipment at the University hospitals in Łódź are really something to be proud of. ” says Professor Adam Dziki, Vice-Rector for Clinical Affairs and Postgraduate Training at the Łódź Medical University. “We are thinking about collaborating with Cologne and Copenhagen, which could be beneficial for us.
The Kopernika hospital in Łódź is also looking to attract more foreign patients. A few months ago the board put in an offer regarding this to the Łódź Regional Branch of the National Health Fund, but nothing came of it. Short-term contracts with the National Health Fund require cash investments from other sources.
Łódź – the place to go for dental treatment
But the main reason that patients from EU countries choose to go to Łódź is for dental treatment. The most popular treatments are dental prosthetics, implants and aesthetic dentistry. These kinds of services are extremely expensive in other EU countries. In Poland prices are little higher than the cost of the materials.
Dental clinics in Łódź are well-placed in lists of Poland’s best clinics and treatment in Łódź is cheaper than in Warsaw. But foreign patients are not only attracted by the low prices, but by the equipment used and the availability of modern technology and the best materials.
“I’m impressed” said one Danish man who decided to join an organised group going to have dental treatment at the Łódź Dental Institute. “Danish dentists rarely invest in new equipment. Here in Łódź your surroundings are comfortable and the services are twice as cheap”.
The first Danish patients came to Łódź in August and there are going to be many more organised trips to Łódź for dental treatment; a dozen or so before the end of the year. Firms in Great Britain and Germany who are also organising trips like these are also interested in wider collaboration with the Institute of Dentistry, particularly in the field of implants since prosthetic work in these countries is extremely expensive. In Łódź a single implant might cost between 1.5 and 2 thousand zlotys (£260-345). In the West this could cost 10,000 zlotys (£1,750) or more.
“Our services are of a high standard, but labour is cheap, hence the difference in price” says Professor Stanislaw Suliborski, head of the Dentistry Department at the Łódź Medical University. A similar phenomenon has been seen in Hungary where large groups of people from Austria and Germany flock to Budapest to receive treatment. “If this collaboration develops, it will be beneficial for both sides”, explains Dr Monika Domarecka, Vice-Director for Medical Services at the Institute of Dentistry at Łódź Medical University. “Foreign patients book expensive services, which people in Łódź simply cannot afford”.
Beyond Europe
Foreign patients also visit private clinics, and this hasn’t depended on Poland joining the EU. These patients are usually native Polish speakers living abroad – in the USA, Australia, Israel and New Zealand. They mainly come for fillings or crowns. They have high demands; they know a lot, they want prosthetics made from the best materials and they won’t accept other materials such as porcelain.
“I live in London, but my mother lives in Łódź. I often visit her and, when I’m there, I go to the dentists” says Anita Rolecks. “In Great Britain dental procedures are amongst the most expensive treatments available”.
“Every year I spend my holidays in Poland and since I have relatives here, I come to Łódź and arrange a visit to the dentists.” says Roman Gilecki from Israel. “Porcelain crowns cost me around 500 zlotys (£85) here, whereas in Israel they are five times more expensive.”
“Dental prosthetic surgery is the most requested treatment since prosthetic services are not refundable by foreign insurance companies” says Dr Ewa Pilarczyk from a Łódź clinic.
In the USA complicated extractions cost 3.5 thousand dollars (£1,800) compared with 300 zlotys (£50) in Poland.
“We are planning to arrange more joint work with English and German patients” adds Dr Pilarczyk. “The price list for these patients is the same as for people in Poland, but they often have higher expectations. They want crowns made from the best porcelain, but they don’t want to pay any more for this.”
Since Poland joined the EU there has been a mass exodus of doctors leaving the country to go and work abroad. This is particularly true of surgeons and dentists who saw no chance of better wages and a better life in Poland. Maybe now that foreign patients are travelling to Poland for treatment, they will change their minds and return. Otherwise who is going to treat the Polish patients?
Lucyna Krysiak
Source: Dziennik Lodzki (Lodz' daily newspaper)
translated by Sonia Clough
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