Purchase Documentation as a Source of Information about Insurance Bought by Public Hospitals in Poland

Theoretical background: By deciding to purchase insurance the entity which does so expresses its demand for money should it suffer adverse consequences of a fortuitous event – that is to say, an event which the entity concerned has identified and whose occurrence it estimated as probable. There are very limited possibilities to learn about the specifics of insurance public hospitals buy. There are also no sources of data that could shed closer light on this, whether coming from the market or gleaned through surveys. As public finance entities, public hospitals are required to follow applicable public procurement laws in purchasing insurance, although that obligation may be waived under certain circumstances. Whatever the procedure hospitals choose to use in their purchases, certain purchase documentation will be generated over its course, which can be a valuable source of detailed information about the coverage bought. Purpose of the article: The main objective of this study is to determine the ways in which public hospitals can buy insurance, what kind of documents are generated in the process, and what scope of information they contain. Research methods: In order to reach the stated objective, a body of literature and legal regulations was analysed, and an empirical study was conducted. The underlying premise in the study was that purchasing procedures followed by public hospitals provide insight into their purchasing decisions, and thereby into the reported demand for insurance. Main findings: The study opened up a way for an assessment of the possibilities and limitations involved in gaining insight into insurance purchasing decisions based on the purchase documentation.