Geriatric Medicine

- section of UEMS



Delegates:

Katarzyna Wieczorowska-Tobis
kwt@tobis.pl

Karolina Piotrowicz
karolina.piotrowicz@uj.edu.pl

------------------

Geriatrics in Poland

Do geriatric co-management programs exist in non-geriatric units:
No
Total population >65 Years old (in absolute numbers): :
7725100
Population aged 65+ (or 60+) (in %):: :
26.6% for 60+
Population aged 75+ (in %)::
8.2%
Population aged 80+ (in %):  :
4.3%
Gender distribution in the older population (60+) :
Females - 58%
Most frequent Diagnosis-related groupsin older adults:
Granular data are not available. However, based on OECD: in 2021, 4.3 million people in Poland were living with a cardiovascular disease.
Mortality and morbidity information:
In Poland in 2024, 355.2 thousand people aged 60 and over died. This group accounted for 87.0% of all deaths.
National geriatrics society/association name:
1. The Polish Gerontological Society; 2. The Polish College of Geriatrician
Contact details (email, phone number) :
1. gerontologia@gerontologia.org.pl +48 618737303; 2. jerzy.gasowski@uj.edu.pl +48 124003250
Website - URL :
1. https://gerontologia.org.pl 2. https://kolegium-geriatria.pl
Total number of certified geriatricians in the country :
594 (https://nil.org.pl/uploaded_files/1768208069/31122025-zestawienie-nr-4.pdf)
Is Geriatrics a recognized specialty? (Yes/No) :
Yes
Duration of postgraduate training in geriatric medicine (years): :
5 years
Criteria to be admitted in geriatric medicine residency training:
13-month postraduate internship (staż podyplomowy) and passing the Final Medical Exam (Lekarski Egzamin Końcowy - LEK)
Any ongoing programs to train more geriatricians? (Yes/No):
No
Criteria for a patient be treated by a geriatrician :
60+
Number of hospitals with dedicated geriatric units:
60
Kind of units present in hospitals involved in geriatric care:
acute geriatric wards, elective admission wards
Do geriatric co-management programs exist in non-geriatric units:
No
Major challenges :
Low valuation of geriatric services, shortige of workforce, retirement of current active workforce, lack of facilities
Initiatives or solutions being implemented to address these :
Geriatric medicine being consider as "specialty in shortage"
Are there regional disparities in geriatric care?:
Yes
Which regions have the best/worst access to geriatric services? :
Based on outpatient clinic numbers, the best-performing regions in Poland are Silesian Voivodeship, Masovian Voivodeship, and Lesser Poland, while the worst-performing are Świętokrzyskie, Warmian-Masurian, and both Subcarpathian and West Pomeranian Voivodeships. When looking at hospital wards, the top three regions are Silesian, Lesser Poland, and Masovian, whereas the lowest-performing regions are Warmian-Masurian and West Pomeranian.
Number of long-term care facilities:
No data available. Generally, there are no dedicated long-term care facilities providing geriatric care. However, some private long-term care facilities may offer such services.
Are there co-management programs in these:
No
Name of Universities Offering Geriatric Medicine:
As learning outcomes are defined at the national level, all medical universities are required to include at least basic geriatric content in their curricula, such as comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and geriatric pharmacotherapy etc.
Geriatric medicine is part of undergraduate training?:
There are 38 medical universities in Poland
Is there a postgraduate curriculum specific to geriatrics?:
Yes
How many candidates are enrolled into geriatric:
The recruitment of residents takes place twice a year. The number of training positions is determined based on requests submit
Name of UEMS board membersandcontacts per country:
Katarzyna Wieczorowska-Tobis - kwt@tobis.pl ; Karolina Piotrowicz - karolina.piotrowicz@uj.edu.pl
Additional comments or important information
-----------------------------------------------------