NEWS  ASSOCIATION  MEMBERS  FUTURE MEMBERS  OSSN STATUTE  CONTACT  PO POLSKU		2003-06-23 The OSSN Conference in Wrocław On 23 June the there was a conference at the Dorint Hotel in Wrocław on the role and place of private hospitals in the Polish system of healthcare. The conference was organized by the National Association of Private Hospital and the Western Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with: the Medical Institute EuroMediCare and the consulting firm Sygma from Wrocław. The honorary patron of the conference was Henryka Bochniarz, chairman of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP) and Marian Noga, rector of the Wrocław University of Economics. The media sponsors were the daily Gazeta Wyborcza and the monthly Menedżer Zdrowia. It was an international meeting with such participants as Alberta Sciachi, President of the European Union of Private Hospitals; Clive Bath, representing London International Healthcare (an institutions developing healthcare management and organization projects for, among others, the World Bank and the United Nations); David Pötz, representing Association of Private Hospitals in Austria; and Marek Potysz, director of one of the largest private hospitals in the Czech Republic, i.e. Nomocnice Podlesi. The foreign speakers presented different solutions which had been introduced in their home countries. The audience was informed about the resultant benefits but also about the problems with which the hospitals were still coping (mainly of the legislative nature). Alberta Sciachi presented the situation of private hospitals in the European Union and the joint international actions underway to stimulate further growth of the market of medical services. All presentations stressed the importance of equal treatment of private and public establishments as the key requirement for the efficient functioning of the healthcare system. Polish lecturers included Prof Jacek Ruszkowski from the Leon KoŸmiński Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management in Warsaw, who pointed to the advantages of introducing private health insurance in Poland. Adam Kruszewski, Investment Manager at Enterprise Investors and dr Maciej Sygit, chairman of Sygma Konsulting demonstrated both the efficiency of private hospital (especially in comparison with the public sector) and the numerous barriers preventing their further development. Several lecturers, including representatives of the Order of St John of God in Kraków, Clinica Medica in Gdynia, the Lower Silesian Heart Disease Centre, and the Specialist Hospital EuroMediCare in Wrocałw presented to the audience their experiences on the Polish market of medical services. The conference ended with the presentation of the position of the OSSN and other social organizations on the proposed changes to the system of healthcare in Poland. The representatives of the Ministry of Health did not accept their invitation to the conference. Also, two directors from the National Health Fund resigned from delivering their speeches at the last moment. However, Wrocław was the meeting place of members of the Polish Private Hospitals Association, representatives of business circles, members of parliament, and local government officials. The organizers hope that participation in this conference and the presented ideas will inspire its participants and healthcare decision-makers to search for new solutions to the present problems afflicting healthcare in Poland.