While recognizing the need to protect patients from abuse and from attempts to mislead them through services falsely presented as medical treatment, seeking to safeguard the credibility of publicly communicated health information and expressing our utmost respect for the tremendous achievements of modern medicine, we oppose the amendment to the Act concerning the Patient Rights Ombudsman in the form adopted by the Sejm. We therefore call upon the Senate of the Republic of Poland to reject the bill. Should the bill reach the President of the Republic of Poland, we urge the President to refer it to the Constitutional Tribunal or to exercise the Presidential veto.
Our position is based on a number of serious shortcomings contained in the bill. The most important of these are presented below.
1. Lack of a clear definition of the key concept of “current medical knowledge”
The entire sanctioning framework of the bill is based on the concept of “current medical knowledge,” yet this term remains undefined. In the Report on Public Consultations, the legislator explicitly stated on six occasions that this concept is not defined in any legal act and that there is no intention to define it.
We note that according to the widely cited paper by P. Densen (“Challenges and Opportunities Facing Medical Education,” Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, 2011, Vol. 122), the doubling time of medical knowledge was approximately 3.5 years in 2010, whereas the projected doubling time for 2026 is only 73 days.
This demonstrates that the concept of “current” medical knowledge is inherently dynamic, evolving, and subject to differing interpretations. It therefore requires a precise statutory definition. Without such a definition, the bill violates the constitutional principle of legal certainty (lex certa), as guaranteed by Article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
2. Restriction of the constitutional principle of freedom of expression
The bill limits freedom of speech, including open debate regarding new or unconventional therapeutic methods, both within the medical profession and throughout society.
Among other measures, it authorizes the blocking of access to websites containing content that the Patient Rights Ombudsman considers to be “medical misinformation.” It also introduces substantial financial penalties for spreading such information or giving advice grounded in certain approaches to health and medical treatment.
Combined with vague legal definitions, these provisions may result in:
- restrictions on public debate,
- a stunting effect on scientific and public discussion,
- legal uncertainty regarding the permissible scope of expression.
3. Lack of legal clarity regarding traditional and complementary medicine
The bill provides no clear guidance regarding the legality of practicing traditional and complementary medical systems, including local traditional Polish herbal remedies, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Indian Ayurveda.
These systems are integrated into healthcare in numerous European countries and are recognized by the World Health Organization in its Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034.
4. Excessive concentration of authority in the Patient Rights Ombudsman
The bill grants the Patient Rights Ombudsman the combined roles of investigator, adjudicator, and enforcement authority.
It does not require consultation with independent scientific advisory bodies, fails to guarantee an automatic right of judicial appeal, and provides for the immediate enforceability of administrative decisions.
Similar concerns were publicly raised during proceedings of the Sejm Health Committee. Member of Parliament Janusz Cieszyński stated that the proposal effectively makes the Patient Rights Ombudsman “both prosecutor and judge.”
5. Disproportionate financial penalties
The bill provides for penalties of up to PLN 1,000,000 without regard to the scale of the entity’s activities, its actual revenue, or the degree of fault.
This raises concerns regarding compliance with the constitutional principle of proportionality under Article 31(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
International Context
We note that in many countries around the world, therapeutic methods derived from traditional medical systems are offered within hospitals practicing within the scope of Western medicine, or through officially recognized healthcare institutions. This is the case, among others, in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, China, India, and Japan.
Notably, in the nationwide referendum held on 17 May 2009, the citizens of the Swiss Confederation voted to integrate complementary medicine into the national healthcare system. As a result, freedom of choice regarding methods of treatment was incorporated into the Federal Constitution of Switzerland (Article 118a).
Further information regarding the integration of traditional and complementary medicine into national healthcare systems can be found in the World Health Organization document Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, adopted by the World Health Assembly.
Existing law already provides mechanisms to prosecute abuses
We also believe that many of the abuses the bill purports to address can already be effectively prosecuted under the existing legal framework, including the Polish Criminal Code (Articles 155, 160, and 286) and the Act on the Professions of Physician and Dentist (Article 58).
Proposal
In light of the above, we call for the rejection of the proposed amendment and for the establishment of working groups to engage a genuine dialogue between representatives of the authorities of the Republic of Poland, the official healthcare system, and the principal schools of complementary and traditional medicine.
The objective of such dialogue should be the development of a reliable legal framework governing their operation.
Signatories
Prof. Łukasz Łuczaj, PhD, DSc
Faculty of Biology, Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development
Dr. Henryk Różański, PhD, DSc
State Academy of Applied Sciences in Krosno
Dr. Krzysztof Błecha, PhD, MD
State Academy of Applied Sciences in Krosno
If you are a scientist and want to sign this letter please write to me to lukasz.luczaj@admin. The Polish-labguage version of this petition was signed by many scientists in Poland:
No Comments