Innovations in the management of health service in Poland

The notion “innovations in health service” is associated in the majority of cases with the newest medical equipment, new methods of treatment and diagnostics or with medicines of a new generation. All these elements are definitely a base of innovations and thanks to them the progress in medicine is made; however they do not show all the aspects of this notion. New organizational forms of health service activities, new sources of financing as well as forms and patters defining the behavior of personnel and the relations of personnel with patients can be also regarded as innovations. One of such organizational innovations is clusters -- innovative solution based on the transfer of knowledge and direct personal contacts, as a geographical concentration of selected suppliers, service providers and associated institutions in the branches of industry which are connected together. Other aspect describes Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in health service management. Based on own author’s research, this paper describes organizational innovations -- including clusters -- implemented in recent years in Poland, together with selected case studies of organizational innovations implemented in South East part of the country.