Published: 2026-06-30

Regional Inequalities in Primary Healthcare Access in Poland: Evidence from Patient Registration Data

Mateusz Jankowski Profil ORCID autora Mateusz Jankowski
European Journal of Health Policy, Humanization of Care and Medical Ethics
Section: Articles
DOI https://doi.org/10.21697/ejph.0112.03

Abstract

Primary healthcare (PHC) is a key component of the healthcare system and plays a central role in ensuring access to basic health services. Therefore, this study assesses regional differences in access to PHC services in Poland, based on patient registration data published by the National Health Fund. This study is a cross-sectional secondary analysis of National Health Fund data on the number
of patients registered to particular primary care physicians and nurses as of December 2024. Data are presented for all voivodeships in Poland.
Overall, PHC coverage reached 91.0% for physicians and 87.1% for nurses, with lower nurse coverage in Opole (72.7%) and Greater Poland (80.0%). The nurse–physician gap varied across regions, ranging from −0.5% in Kuyavia-Pomerania to 14.9% in Greater Poland. PHC services were highly concentrated, with large and very large providers (≥6,000 patients per facility) accounting for 30% of facilities but serving 60% of patients. The highest proportion of patients registered with large providers was observed in the Pomeranian (74.7%) and Mazovian (71.9%) voivodeships, while the lowest was in the Lublin (41.3%) and Podlaskie (42.4%) voivodeships.
Individual providers accounted for less than 1% of total registrations, although the largest providers were mainly located in the Mazovian voivodeship.
Findings from this study indicate significant regional inequalities in access to PHC services in Poland, particularly in the distribution of nursing care and the concentration of services in larger providers.

Keywords:

primary healthcare, access, nequalities, health services, workforce
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