10.8.2026

Medication safety is becoming an increasingly important measure of healthcare quality across Europe, with Poland providing a timely example of this shift. New accreditation standards for Polish hospitals are placing greater emphasis on the systematic management of treatment-related risks, while digital tools that support healthcare professionals are playing an increasingly important role.

Against this backdrop, experts from Poland’s healthcare sector – including the Mother and Child Institute – highlight how an ageing population, growing polypharmacy and increasingly complex treatments are creating a need for solutions that support safer use of medicines and better clinical decision-making.

Digitalisation is increasingly supporting safer treatment

According to the 2026 Digital Decade eHealth Indicator Study, the average maturity level of e-health systems in the European Union has reached 87%. Over the past year, 18 Member States improved their performance, while 85% of EU countries now provide citizens with centralised access to electronic health records.

The European Commission also highlights the development of system interoperability and the European Health Data Space (EHDS) as important elements in improving the quality of care and patient safety. Although Poland ranks highly in terms of digitalisation, experts point out that medication safety still requires further development.

Hospital innovation is increasingly focused on medication safety

The growing importance of technologies that support safer treatment has also been recognised by the Mother and Child Institute. For the past five years, the Institute has organised the international MCSC Hospital Leadership Innovations competition, promoting innovative solutions that support the development of healthcare and modern hospital management.

According to Ewelina Tomaszczyk, Innovation Manager at the IMiD Centre for Innovation and Artificial Intelligence, recent editions have increasingly featured solutions that improve the safety of medical processes, including medication safety.

– Having worked with innovations in hospitals for many years, we have observed that technologies supporting the day-to-day work of medical staff are among the most urgently needed solutions. Tools that enhance the safety of pharmacotherapy address the real needs of the healthcare sector: they improve access to key information, support decision-making and result in both greater patient safety and higher quality of care, explains Ewelina Tomaszczyk.

Experience from a pilot project carried out jointly with IMiD indicates that solutions supporting the analysis of pharmacotherapy can help improve treatment safety while also streamlining the day-to-day work of healthcare professionals.

New accreditation standards are bringing medication safety into sharper focus. Combined with digital tools, they can support healthcare professionals in managing medication-related risks and delivering safer care.

New accreditation standards increase the importance of medication safety

Medication safety is no longer simply one element of the treatment process. It is increasingly becoming a key part of quality management in modern hospitals.

In 2024, the World Health Organization highlighted that nearly half of preventable harm in healthcare is related to pharmacotherapy. The significance of this issue is expected to grow alongside demographic changes: an ageing population and an increasing number of patients with chronic conditions mean that more people are taking several medicines at the same time, increasing the risk of drug interactions and adverse effects.

Prof. Agnieszka Neumann-Podczaska of the Polish Society for Pharmaceutical Care emphasises that the new accreditation standards require hospitals to take a more systematic approach to medication safety.

– New accreditation standards are significantly changing the approach to medication safety. It is no longer just one of many elements of the treatment process, but is becoming one of the key indicators of the quality of care. For hospitals, this means the need for systematic risk management, stronger collaboration between doctors, nurses and pharmacists, and the use of digital tools to support pharmacotherapy analysis and the monitoring of adverse events. Well-implemented standards will not only facilitate accreditation but, above all, translate into greater patient safety and a reduction in medication errors, explains Prof. Agnieszka Neumann-Podczaska.

In practice, the new requirements also mean a greater role for hospital pharmacists, medication reviews and interdisciplinary collaboration between doctors, nurses and pharmacy staff.

Digital tools should support clinical decision-making

Experts agree that improving medication safety cannot be achieved through a single solution. It requires the combination of appropriate procedures, staff expertise, interdisciplinary collaboration and digital technologies capable of analysing treatment-related data.

– Solutions that support the analysis and safe use of pharmacotherapy enable the faster identification of potential drug interactions, support the medication review process and facilitate decision-making by healthcare professionals. Their importance will only grow as quality standards in healthcare mature, just as the need for support in delivering medical services will increase in the face of limited resources, time constraints and a growing number of patients with multiple conditions – and therefore on multiple medications,” says Sławomir Kmak, Head of Operations at Medbase’s Polish branch.

New accreditation standards provide a framework for the wider adoption of such approaches, while strengthening the role of hospital pharmacists and improving the quality of processes related to pharmacotherapy. For healthcare organisations, this is not only about meeting formal requirements, but also about creating opportunities to improve patient safety and reduce treatment-related adverse events.

A growing medicines market increases the importance of safe pharmacotherapy

The scale of pharmacotherapy in Poland continues to grow. In October 2025, pharmacy market sales reached PLN 5.232 billion, representing an increase of 16.4% compared with the same period the previous year. At the same time, around 68% of medicines available on the Polish market are imported, while domestic manufacturers account for approximately 32%.

These figures illustrate both the scale of medicine use in Poland and the importance of responsible management of pharmacological treatment.

As the Polish Pharmaceutical Society emphasises, medication safety should be understood more broadly than simply ensuring the availability of medicinal products. It also includes the rational use of medicines, monitoring of treatment and early identification of medication-related problems before they lead to clinical consequences such as adverse effects, prolonged hospital stays, reduced quality of care or higher healthcare costs.

Digitalisation can support safer treatment

Further digitalisation and the development of tools that support the monitoring and analysis of pharmacotherapy may play an important role in addressing medication safety challenges in the Polish healthcare system.

As the number of patients with chronic conditions grows and treatment regimens become increasingly complex, medication safety is becoming an essential part of modern healthcare delivery. Combining strong clinical processes, interdisciplinary collaboration and digital decision-support tools can help healthcare professionals manage treatment risks more effectively and support safer care for patients.

The article was written by ComeCreationsGroup.