What are the rights of foreign physicians who have obtained a simplified license to practice?

The appeal, launched on October 21, is addressed to, among others, the Minister of Health, the Prosecutor General, the Governor of Wielkopolska, the founding bodies of health care facilities and the managers of health care facilities. This is because the Greater Poland Chamber of Physicians has been observing with concern that the regulations allowing simplified access to practice the profession for doctors from countries such as Ukraine and Belarus, among others, are being violated, both by the doctors themselves and the health care entities that employ them.

Flawed regulations

In 2020, the legislator introduced two opportunities to obtain authorizations giving non-EU medics the opportunity to start working in Poland quickly. The first was a conditional right to practice the profession, and the second was a right to practice the profession for a specific range of professional activities, time and place of employment in the territory of the Republic of Poland (giving the opportunity to work in the scope of one's specialization). The former was the most popular; however, it gave the opportunity to work only in a medical entity dedicated to providing health services to patients suffering from COVID-19. After the lifting of the epidemic emergency, those with conditional right to practice may continue to treat patients, but only as general practitioners. Currently, only citizens of Ukraine who crossed the border after February 24, 2022 can apply for eligibility under this mode.

The medical association had already raised the alarm when the legislation was passed that it was flawed. The legislator does not require an exam to confirm knowledge of the Polish language, and has not established the minimum required professional qualifications. There is also no precise and clear regulation defining the rights of doctors with a conditional right to practice, which leads to numerous irregularities.

Therefore, in an appeal, the Regional Medical Council of the Greater Poland Chamber of Physicians reminds:

1) a conditional right to practice medicine or dentistry does not entitle a doctor to work as a specialist. The use of the title of a specialist doctor, as well as the placement of information misleading patients that a doctor with a conditional right to practice medicine or a dentist provides health care services in the same capacity as a specialist constitute a violation of the applicable rules of medical practice;

2) the provision of specialized health services by physicians or dentists who have a diploma confirming the acquisition of a specialty title issued outside the European Union is permitted if they have obtained a right to practice the profession of a physician/dentist for a specific range of professional activities, time and place of employment in the territory of the Republic of Poland, granted by the district medical council under Article 7, paragraph 2e of the Law of December 5, 1996 on the professions of physician and dentist.

However, the simplified mode giving the possibility of specialized treatment (item 2) has been used by far fewer people. To date, the Greater Poland Medical Chamber has granted such a right to practice medicine to 50 doctors and 2 dentists. On the other hand, conditional right to practice the profession is held by 177 doctors and 34 dentists in our province. In their case, using the title of specialist doctor, putting such information on the stamp, and, even worse, providing specialized health services, is a violation of the law. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. The WIL Regional Ombudsman for Professional Responsibility has already been notified of 9 similar cases.

Notifications to the prosecutor's office

In extreme cases, the Greater Poland Medical Chamber did not hesitate to notify the prosecutor's office of the possibility of a crime. The notification concerned, among others, a doctor with a conditional license to practice her profession who worked as a pediatric anesthesiologist. In another case, health care services were provided by physicians who had been denied licenses by the Medical Chamber due to their lack of knowledge of the Polish language. These individuals have not appealed these decisions and are not allowed to treat patients. Despite this, they were employed in one of the Wielkopolska hospitals.

A conditional license to practice medicine also does not entitle one to register a private medical practice. However, three people in Greater China alone have registered a business with a name suggesting medical activities.

A negative decision from the Greater Poland Chamber of Physicians has so far been met by 73 applicants for the right to practice under the simplified procedure. The reason most often was insufficient knowledge of the Polish language, without which it is difficult to imagine taking a patient's history properly, keeping medical records or communicating with staff.

Therefore, immediately after the outbreak of war, free Polish language courses were launched for doctors and dentists from Ukraine. The lessons continue to this day, and more than 100 people have taken part. The intensive learning has allowed many doctors to successfully apply for conditional licenses to practice their profession. The WIL Regional Medical Council, however, takes the position that language competence should serve non-EU doctors to nostrify their diploma or take the Medical (Medical and Dental) Verification Examination, and thus acquire full rights. Imperfect solutions from the time of the pandemic should instead be abolished.

Source: District Medical Council of the Greater Poland Chamber of Physicians