New regulations in Poland: The Patient Ombudsman declares war on pseudomedicine
The Polish government has adopted a draft of new regulations aimed at combating medical misinformation and dangerous treatment methods. These changes grant the Patient Ombudsman significantly greater powers to monitor health-related content appearing in the public sphere.
The goal of the new regulations is to protect citizens from so-called pseudomedicine. It often happens that therapies lacking scientific validation are promoted on the internet or during private consultations. Such actions can be very dangerous to the health and lives of patients who forgo professional treatment in favor of unverified methods.
Thanks to the new powers, the Patient Ombudsman will be able to react more effectively to cases of spreading harmful information. The office will gain tools that allow for faster detection and blocking of content that misleads patients. This is an important step toward increasing health security in Poland.
Experts emphasize that fighting misinformation is crucial in an era of easy internet access. The new law is intended to support doctors and patients who want to be sure that the treatment methods offered to them are safe and based on reliable medical knowledge.
The draft bill will now proceed to further work in parliament. If the regulations are finally adopted, Poland will join the ranks of countries that actively counteract the spread of dangerous medical advice in the media and on the internet.