Badania diagnostyczne w aptece na przykładzie testów na obecność wirusa SARS-CoV-2 – analiza prawno-porównawcza

For over twenty years, pharmacists in Poland did not have the right to perform even simple diagnostic tests, such as measuring blood pressure or patient’s body weight. It was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that the law was changed to allow the introduction of pharmaceutical care services in pharmacies, which enabled diagnostic tests to be performed, including tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. As a result, pharmacies performed 89,984 tests, of which 49,345 only in February 2022. The cessation of financing for this service by the National Health Fund (NFZ) on April 1, 2022 resulted in a significant decrease in the number of tests performed. A legal and comparative analysis of legal acts in force since 2001 was carried out, along with an analysis of data obtained from the E-Health Center. It has been shown that the change in regulations both regarding the qualifications of pharmacists and the financing of tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus increased the number of diagnostic tests performed. Therefore, increasing the rights of pharmacists to perform diagnostic tests is the right direction of changes in the health care system in Poland.