Seeing a doctor in Poland: how to register with a GP under NFZ

Who is entitled to NFZ treatment

Everyone for whom health contributions are paid: employees on an umowa o pracę, most people on an umowa zlecenie, the self-employed, registered unemployed people, and family members registered for insurance by them.

Children under 18, pregnant women and women after childbirth are entitled to treatment regardless of insurance. People with UKR status are covered by separate rules of the special act, which changed in 2025 — check the current scope on the NFZ website or on 800 190 590.

You can check your insurance in Internetowe Konto Pacjenta or at a clinic's reception desk, where the status shows in the eWUŚ system by PESEL number.

How to choose a family doctor

1. Find a clinic (przychodnia) with an NFZ contract near your home — the search is on the NFZ “Gdzie się leczyć” website.
2. Fill in the declaration choosing a POZ doctor (deklaracja wyboru lekarza POZ) — at reception or online in Internetowe Konto Pacjenta. A nurse and a midwife are usually chosen at the same time.
3. It is free. You can change your doctor up to three times a year at no cost.

Appointments, prescriptions and referrals

• Book by phone, in person or on the clinic's website. You can also get a phone consultation (teleporada).
• Prescriptions are electronic. After the visit you get a text message with a four-digit code: at the pharmacy you give the code and your PESEL.
• Most specialists (cardiologist, endocrinologist, orthopaedist) require a referral (skierowanie) from your family doctor. Without a referral you can see a gynaecologist, dermatologist, ophthalmologist, psychiatrist, dentist and oncologist.
• Waiting lists for NFZ specialists can be long. You can compare waiting times at different clinics in “Gdzie się leczyć”.

At night, at weekends and in emergencies

• Nocna i świąteczna opieka zdrowotna — night and holiday care: from 18:00 to 8:00 on weekdays and around the clock at weekends and on public holidays. Addresses are on the NFZ website.
• SOR — the hospital emergency department — for life-threatening conditions.
• 112 or 999 — ambulance. 112 operators often speak Ukrainian.

Internetowe Konto Pacjenta

IKP is a free patient account on pacjent.gov.pl and in the mojeIKP app. It shows prescriptions, referrals, results and visit history, and lets you choose a doctor and book vaccinations. Log in with Profil Zaufany, your bank or mObywatel.