The government has adopted a "lex impostor." Up to a million zloty fine for violating patients' rights

The government has approved a draft amendment to the Law on Patients' Rights and Patients' Ombudsman, which aims to strengthen patient protection against pseudo-medicine and fraudulent practices that exploit patients' health fears. The new legislation is intended to enable a quicker response to the activities of those offering unproven therapies or discouraging patients from receiving diagnosis and treatment in accordance with current medical knowledge.

- We must build trust in the health care system based on ensuring patient safety. There is no our acquiescence to pseudo-scientific experiments that prey on fear and helplessness. Modern medicine must be based on facts, up-to-date scientific knowledge and the experience of specialists, not on manipulation or deception. The legislation adopted by the government today is a powerful tool to combat pseudo-medicine and misinformation that threatens the lives of Polish women and men. Thanks to these changes, we will restore clear rules and honesty in health care," stressed Health Minister Jolanta Sobieranska-Grenda.

The amendment significantly expands the powers of the Patient Ombudsman. He will be able to issue public warnings about unsafe practices, as well as interim decisions ordering an immediate halt to activities even before the proceedings are completed. The powers will also extend to entities operating without the required registrations.

The Ombudsman's role is also to be strengthened in civil proceedings involving violations of patient rights, including cases involving the death of a patient.

The draft also provides for higher financial penalties. The penalty for violating the collective rights of patients is to be up to PLN 1 million, and up to PLN 100,000 for failure to cooperate with the Ombudsman. Importantly, sanctions will also be able to be imposed if the activity is terminated just before the decision is issued.

Patient Ombudsman Bartlomiej Chmielowiec also addressed the new regulations.

- Today, charlatans are using new technologies and social networks to manipulate the fear, helplessness and hope of patients seeking help. The pseudo-knowledge they spread leads to chaos, loss of health and fraud based on false hope. The state cannot be passive in the face of those who make money from medical misinformation. The new legislation will allow the state to stand more firmly on the side of patients and their families who are victims of medical fraud. Lex Charlatan is about protecting citizens, based on knowledge, responsibility and the right to reliable information," he points out.

At the same time, the draft's authors stress that the new regulations do not target legitimate areas such as herbalism, cosmetology, podiatry, yoga or massage. The bill is intended to address only situations in which unproven methods are attributed therapeutic effects without scientific basis, or when patients are induced to forgo conventional treatment.

- We cannot allow false authorities to build coverage at the expense of human lives. Fighting misinformation is the foundation of a modern health care system based on trust and facts. By protecting patients from disinformation and deception, we not only protect their health and lives, but also restore faith in effective medicine," says Deputy Health Minister Katarzyna Kęcka.

The new regulations are expected to take effect three months after they are promulgated.

Source: KPRM