For an international medical conglomerate with a solid position in the long-term care market, we conducted a study on the analysis of the psychiatric market in Poland, as part of the offered medical market research. The main research objective was to determine the potential development of the psychiatric market in the next 10 years. Our focus was on identifying potential barriers to development, as well as determining factors that could accelerate its growth. An important assumption was also to identify solutions worth emulating in long-term psychiatric care.
To conduct the study, we based our methodology on Desk Research analysis. The data sources included:
- Data from medical registers;
- Structure of the state psychiatric healthcare system;
- Epidemiology of psychiatric diseases, along with suicide characteristics;
- Industry reports;
- Current medical laws that could impact the development of the psychiatric market;
- Data on the financing of psychiatric healthcare within the National Health Fund, including individual medical entities and selected medical conditions;
- Private psychiatric market analysis;
- Publicly available data from the Central Statistical Office and the National Health Fund;
- Reports from the Supreme Audit Office regarding living conditions and available infrastructure in state psychiatric facilities;
- Data from medical centers;
- Data obtained from previous market research in the medical sector.
The study successfully achieved its research objectives, allowing for an analysis of the perspectives of the psychiatric market's development. Based on the obtained results, positive development prospects for the long-term psychiatric care market in the studied years were identified. The psychiatric market in the coming years is expected to remain stable.
The following research conclusions were reached:
- An estimated 4.5 million Poles are outside the state psychiatric healthcare system, with at least one mental health disorder;
- High prevalence of depression-related disorders among young people, especially among children and adolescents;
- Uneven distribution of psychiatric hospitals relative to the epidemiology of mental disorders, leading to issues in accessing specialized care;
- Low expenditures and insufficient growth, resulting in low availability of specialized centers;
- Low valuation of psychiatric services negatively impacting the treatment of certain mental illnesses and hindering access to care facilities with caregiving and medical profiles;
- Lack of private psychiatric centers focusing on the treatment of mental illnesses. Currently, private medical centers mainly focus on addiction treatment.
The conducted market study on long-term psychiatric care allowed for the identification of proper development directions for our client. The synthesized results highlighted significant needs for psychiatric care for children and specific mental illnesses among adults. Analyzing conditions of stay in medical facilities and the available infrastructure allowed us to assess the current market competition and determine a development strategy.
