The Patient Rights Ombudsman continues to appeal and encourage: #I CANCEL #I DON'T BLOCK
The fourth edition of the #CANCEL #UNBLOCK campaign is underway. Bartłomiej Chmielowiec, the Patient Rights Ombudsman, once again appeals to patients to cancel doctor's appointments if they know they will be unable to attend.
The #CANCEL #NIEBLOKUJĘ campaign, initiated by the CMP Medical Center in 2022, draws attention to the problem of uncancelled appointments. According to data from the National Health Fund for 2024, over 1.36 million appointments were not canceled in just 40 monitored services. This phenomenon significantly limits access to doctors and lengthens queues for medical services.
"By mid-2025, patients had not canceled 773,000 appointments," he reported. "This means 773,000 people who could have benefited from specialist advice, but unfortunately were unable to do so. An uncancelled appointment is a missed opportunity to help another patient. On the other hand, it is a huge responsibility on the part of medical facilities, which should ensure an effective channel of communication with patients and facilitate appointment cancellations," said Filip Nowak, president of the National Health Fund.
Honorary patronage was provided by the Ministry of Health, the National Health Fund and the Patient Rights Ombudsman.
"The failure to cancel appointments is a problem that affects us all," emphasizes Bartłomiej Chmielowiec . "Every missed appointment is a lost opportunity for another patient who could have benefited from medical care at the same time. I'm pleased that more and more institutions and medical facilities are joining the campaign. Only by working together can we improve access to healthcare services in Poland."
These numbers may seem abstract, but behind every such case is a doctor waiting for a patient and other patients waiting for their appointment. The appointment could have been made faster if the doctor had received advance notice of the available appointment.
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"We support facilities in implementing a system for scheduling and canceling appointments, but it is up to the facilities to assess the situation in this area and implement appropriate tools and multi-channel appointment scheduling solutions. Of course, patients must also be mindful of this and demonstrate solidarity towards others waiting for their appointments. Therefore, the responsibility of facility managers is crucial, on the one hand, and education and solidarity among patients are crucial, on the other," said the Patient Rights Ombudsman.
Central e-registration is intended to address the problem of unused appointments with doctors. Starting in January 2026, it will cover cardiology, breast cancer prevention, and cervical cancer prevention. Starting July 1, 2026, the system will cover vascular diseases, infectious diseases, endocrinology, hepatology, immunology, cystic fibrosis, nephrology, neonatology, tuberculosis, and lung diseases. The Ministry of Health wants all outpatient specialist care services to be included in the central e-registration by December 31, 2029, at the latest.
According to the registration law, which is awaiting the president's signature, appointments can be booked through the Patient Online Account (IKP) or directly with the provider – in person, by phone, or email. The system will provide appointment reminders and allow cancellations, which is intended to reduce the number of missed appointments.
As recently reported, over one million appointments have already been scheduled as part of the e-registration pilot, of which 470,000 were submitted by healthcare providers. Ten percent of these appointments have been canceled.
Source: sko Updated: 29/10/2025 18:30
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