Introduction: Patients with rheumatic diseases may require costly treatment and continuous rehabilitation, which Internet collections may finance. We aimed to characterize medical crowdfunding campaigns for the needs of Polish people with rheumatic diseases. Material and methods: We utilized data from the largest medical crowdfunding platform in Poland, Siepomaga.pl. All collections in the years 2009-2017 for the needs of people with rheumatic diseases were identified. Results: Twenty-three of 2,656 collections were included (0.9%). Sixty-five and two percent of campaigns collected the financial target. The median amount of collected funds was 3,369 euros. Ten collections concerned conservative treatments (drug and/or rehabilitation), seven financed surgery, five supported the acquisition of medical equipment or its repair, and one aimed at facilitating a diagnostic consultation with a foreign specialist. Conclusions: Polish patients with rheumatic diseases collect funds via medical crowdfunding, mostly for needs not covered by public healthcare or to obtain better health services in the private sector.

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This study assessed the quality of referral letters to the Glaucoma Outpatient Clinic and patients’ first consultation results. A retrospective study included 196 patients newly referred to the clinic. Referrals were mainly issued by ophthalmologists (156; 79.6%). Regarding their urgency level, the planned referrals (184; 93.9%) were dominant. The majority of referral diagnoses (147; 75%) were confirmed as glaucoma in the clinic, whereas 17 (8.2%) glaucoma diagnoses were rejected. 64 (32.7%) patients did not require further ophthalmological review. The assessment of the quality of referral letters revealed that important clinical data was missing. There is a need to improve the referral system to specialist glaucoma clinics in Poland.