The impact of changing the funding model for genetic diagnostics and improved access to personalized medicine in oncology

AimIn January 2017, a new funding model for diagnostic genetic testing in cancer was introduced in Poland.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to assess the impact of changing the funding model for genetic diagnosis in oncology on improving access to personalized medicine in Poland between 2017 and 2019.MethodsThe analysis included data on settlements with the National Health Fund for genetic tests in cancer under a contract of the hospital treatment type and under the contract in the type of separately contracted services between 2017 and 2019.ResultsThe 150,647 diagnostic genetic tests were reported, which were billed to 111,872 patients. The average number of tests per patient was 1.35. One test was billed to 83.5% of patients, 11.2% of patients had two tests billed, and 5.3% had at least three tests billed. The number of services provided under the hospital treatment contract in 2018 doubled compared to the previous year. For separately contracted services, more than threefold increase in genetic testing performed in 2019 compared to 2018 was observed.Conclusionour data show that the novel funding model for genetic services introduced in Poland has positive impact on the availability of genetic testing for patients.