Getting a Family Doctor (GP) in Poland: The POZ Declaration
Short answer: File a free POZ declaration at any NFZ-contracted clinic or online via your Internet Patient Account to get a family doctor who treats you and refers you onward. Clinics work Mon-Fri 8-18; night care fills the rest. Changing is free twice a year, 80 zl after.
The gateway to Polish public healthcare is not a hospital or a specialist - it is the family doctor, the lekarz POZ (primary care physician). Until you file a declaration choosing one, the public system barely exists for you. The process is free, takes one signature, and comes with rules worth knowing before you need them. Here is how primary care works, based on the National Health Fund's (NFZ) own guidance.
Choosing your doctor: the declaration
Public primary care (podstawowa opieka zdrowotna, POZ) is built on your personal choice of doctor, nurse and - if relevant - midwife. You make that choice by filing a declaration (deklaracja):
- On paper, at the clinic you choose - the form is a standard NFZ template.
- Online, through your Internet Patient Account (Internetowe Konto Pacjenta, pacjent.gov.pl) - after logging in you can also check which doctor and clinic you are currently declared with.
- Electronically, signed with a qualified electronic signature, trusted profile (profil zaufany) or personal signature.
You can pick any clinic that has an NFZ contract, anywhere in Poland - you are not tied to your registered address. Look for the NFZ logo on the building, or search the provider list on the NFZ site.
What your POZ doctor actually does
More than most newcomers expect. Under the NFZ's scope of guaranteed services, your GP handles prevention (including vaccinations and cardiovascular screening), diagnoses and treats illness with access to lab tests and basic imaging (EKG, X-ray, ultrasound), performs minor procedures, issues medical certificates, prescribes and manages medication, and - crucially - refers you onward: to specialist clinics, hospital treatment, rehabilitation and spa treatment. In the public system, the GP's referral is how most specialist care begins. Home visits are provided when medically justified.
The declaration also covers a nurse and midwife: the nurse runs child screening and home care tasks, and the midwife covers pregnancy care from week 21 through postpartum home visits.
Hours - and who covers the night
POZ clinics work Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 18:00, excluding public holidays. Outside those hours the NFZ runs night and holiday care (nocna i świąteczna opieka zdrowotna): weekdays 18:00 to 8:00, and around the clock on public holidays, for illnesses that cannot wait but are not life-threatening emergencies. Every POZ clinic must display where its night-care provider is, and voivodeship NFZ branches publish the lists online. For genuine emergencies, it is the emergency number or hospital SOR, not night care.
Changing your mind
You change doctors by filing a new declaration at the new clinic - no need to notify the old one. The NFZ's rules:
- You can change doctor, nurse and midwife free, twice per calendar year, no reason needed.
- Every further change in the same year costs 80 zł.
- Extra changes stay free if you moved house, your doctor left the clinic, the clinic closed, or for other reasons on the provider's side.
If you are an EU citizen and not insured in Poland
Two documents matter, per the NFZ's EU coordination pages:
- EHIC (EKUZ) - for temporary stays (tourism, starting studies). It covers only necessary, unplanned treatment in the public system, on the same terms as Polish patients; show the card at every visit. Forgot it? Your home insurer can send a temporary replacement certificate.
- S1 form - if you live in Poland but are insured elsewhere in the EU (posted workers, pensioners). Register it at the NFZ voivodeship branch where you live; that unlocks care on the same basis as the locally insured, including the right to file a POZ declaration.
If you work in Poland on an employment contract, you are insured in Poland from day one through your employer's ZUS registration - no extra steps needed to see a doctor.
Frequently asked questions
### Do I need to register my address (meldunek) to get a GP?
No - the declaration is a free choice of any NFZ-contracted clinic in Poland, not tied to your registered address. You do need to show you are entitled to care (insurance through work, EHIC, or a registered S1).
Can I just walk into a specialist without a referral?
In the public system, most specialist clinics require a referral - typically from your POZ doctor. A few specialties (such as gynaecology, psychiatry, oncology, dentistry and venereology) are referral-free, but the GP route is the default and the safest way to be seen quickly.
I work in Poland. What proves my right to free care?
Your employer registers you with ZUS from your first day of work, and that health insurance is your entitlement. Clinics verify it electronically via the eWUŚ system using your PESEL; keep your PESEL and a document with a photo handy at the first visit.
What if I get sick on a Sunday?
Night and holiday care runs 24 hours on public holidays (and weekends count as such for this purpose) for non-life-threatening illness. Life-threatening emergencies go straight to the emergency services or a hospital emergency department.
