Introduction
If you are in Poland and need medical assistance, it is useful to know how the healthcare system works. Whether it is an emergency, a routine visit to the doctor or unexpected problems, it is important that you know your rights as a patient. In this guide you will find simple and useful information about how to access healthcare in Poland, what your rights are as a patient, how to deal with emergencies and what to do in the event of a medical error. This is your little guide to help you feel more confident and safe in your new environment.
Access to healthcare
Under what conditions are you entitled to healthcare in Poland?
During your stay in Poland, an event may occur at any time which will make it necessary for you to seek help from the Polish health service. Your entitlements in terms of access to medical services depend, among other things, on which country you come from.
If you are insured under the healthcare system in the Member States of the European Union or EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland), you may receive the necessary medical care in Poland. You will receive benefits on the same basis as those insured in Poland, and these include: guaranteed healthcare benefits, provision of orthopaedic equipment, auxiliary equipment, and access to reimbursed medicines.
The costs of your treatment will be covered by the Polish National Health Fund if you present the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or a certificate temporarily replacing the EHIC. If you do not have an EHIC or a Certificate, the doctor who provided you with healthcare may bill you for your treatment. You can then seek reimbursement from the institution in your country in which you have health insurance.
If you are a citizen of a country with which Poland has signed an agreement or bilateral agreement (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia, Tunisia), you can receive the necessary medical care if you are in Poland legally and suddenly fall ill or have an accident. In such a situation, the costs of treatment will be covered by the Ministry of Health.
If you are not a citizen of the countries listed above, you can receive medical care for a fee. You will be issued with an appropriate bill or invoice for the medical services provided. If you have taken out an appropriate medical insurance policy, your doctor or hospital will settle the costs of medical care with your insurance company.
What do you do if you are working in Poland and there is an accident at work?
It often happens that a foreigner comes to Poland not only as a tourist, but also to work. This is particularly relevant in the context of temporary employees and those employed by temporary work agencies. They very often come from countries outside Europe.
You may have an accident during the course of your work - what then? If you are working in Poland legally on the basis of an employment contract, you are subject to the same protection as Polish employees. If you have an accident at work, your employer must draw up an accident report. This is his absolute obligation.
The report is the basis for the subsequent assertion of your claims. Above all, you are entitled to so-called one-off accident compensation, the amount of which depends on the injuries you have suffered as a result of the accident at work.
If the accident was the fault of your employer, you can pursue additional claims directly against him or his insurance company. The amount of these claims depends on the injuries you have suffered and the future consequences for your health.
Remember that the above rules apply if you are employed in Poland under an employment contract. If you are employed under a civil law contract, the rules for pursuing claims and their catalogue may be different.
For example, only persons covered by accident insurance are entitled to one-off accident compensation. This means that a person working under a contract of mandate will not receive the benefit if the principal does not pay social insurance contributions for him or her, because the contractor has another title to insurance (e.g. he or she is simultaneously employed under an employment contract).
Damage caused in Poland by a so-called dangerous product
Polish legislation, also protects all persons residing in the country, regardless of their nationality, against damage caused by a so-called dangerous product.
A dangerous product does not provide the safety that can be expected given its normal use. If a product, when used in the normal.
A dangerous product can be, for example, a medical device used in the treatment process (e.g. implants or a medical device) as well as a plastic bottle.The injured person only has to prove in court that such a bottle exploded when opened, which sufficiently demonstrates that it is defective. It does not matter whether the defect existed from the moment the product was placed on the market or whether it arose later (e.g. during transport or storage).
The recognition that the damage suffered in Poland is due to the product's defectiveness may result in the award of substantial compensation or compensation for non-material damage.
Patient's rights in Poland
If a situation arises where you need to see a doctor or appear in hospital during your stay in Poland, remember that you are protected by a number of provisions of Polish law, in particular the Act on Patient's Rights and Patient's Ombudsman. It is worth knowing these rights so that you know what to expect when receiving healthcare services in Poland.
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Patient's right to information
The patient has the right to information about his health condition. When using the services of a doctor in Poland, you have the right to be informed about your health condition, diagnosis, proposed and possible diagnostic and therapeutic methods, the results of treatment and prognosis.
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Patient's right to confidentiality of information concerning him/her.
You have the right to confidentiality of information obtained in connection with the practice of the medical profession by medical professionals. You do not have to fear that the doctor treating you will disclose relevant information about your condition to an unauthorised person.
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Right to pain treatment
An illness or an accident is often associated with experiencing significant pain. In Poland, the patient has the right to its treatment. The medical entity is obliged to take measures to determine the intensity of your pain, to treat it and to monitor the effectiveness of such treatment. You should not be afraid to request anaesthesia from your doctor and you must not incur any costs for this.
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Patient's right to medical records
An important right of the patient, particularly in the context of claiming reimbursement for the costs of any medical treatment (if such costs have been incurred), is the right of access to medical records that relate to your health condition and the medical services provided.
The hospital or the attending doctor will make such medical records available to you upon your request. Importantly, there is no charge for the first copy of your medical records - you will receive them for free, once you have made the appropriate request.
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Patient's right to pastoral care
A patient staying in a medical facility providing in-patient and round-the-clock healthcare has the right to pastoral care. This refers to hospitals where you stay, for example, after having an operation when you have had an accident on holiday in Poland.
In the event that your health deteriorates or your life is in danger, the hospital is obliged to enable you to contact a clergyman of his religion. You are entitled to the above rights irrespective of which religion you follow.
Of course, these are not all the rights of a patient provided for by Polish law. However, the ones indicated above are very important in the context of providing health services to foreigners staying in Poland.
Emergencies and emergency numbers
While on holiday in Poland, or while you are here in the course of your business duties, something may happen to you at any time which will force you to seek medical assistance. What should you do in an emergency?
You need to be aware of the emergency numbers in Poland:
112 - the basic emergency number in Poland. By calling it, you will be able to inform any service about an incident you have attended or witnessed. The dispatcher, upon receiving the call, will turn to the Police, Fire Brigade or Ambulance Service, depending on which service you will need in a given situation.
It is also good to remember the other emergency numbers in Poland. They direct you directly to specific services.
997 - Police
998 - Fire Brigade
999 - Ambulance Service
Hopefully you won't need the above knowledge during your stay in Poland.
However, you'd better remember these numbers if you plan to visit Poland.
Medical Malpractice - Proceedings in Poland
Basic principles of proceeding in cases of medical errors
An increasingly frequent situation both in Poland and in other European countries is the so-called medical tourism. The awareness of patients who want to undergo procedures is increasing. The patient's choice of clinic in which to undergo a procedure is no longer determined solely by the price of the procedure and the specific location, but also by the country in which it is to be carried out.
Poland is one such destination. Every medical procedure involves the risk of complications, which are the result of an improperly performed procedure and mistakes made by doctors. What are the procedures involved in pursuing medical error claims and the corresponding rights of the patient?
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In the first instance, if there was a medical error during the procedure, i.e. an error was made in the diagnosis of your condition, or the wrong technique was used for the procedure, which led to its worsening, report this in writing to the doctor or the facility where the procedure was carried out. Initially, an email notification is sufficient;
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Ask the facility to give you access to your full medical records, in accordance with your patient rights described in section 2,
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Ensure that your claims are properly documented - photo documentation is extremely important, especially in the case of medical errors whose negative effects may fade over time.
You do not have to stay in Poland to pursue a claim from a doctor or hospital. Paper correspondence is recommended in order to secure evidence which can then be examined by the Court. The case will go there if the doctor or facility does not accept responsibility for the incident.
Importantly, you can sue not only the medical facility where the procedure took place or the doctor who performed the procedure, but also the insurance company that provided the insurance cover for the doctor or hospital.
As a patient affected by a medical error, you can claim financial compensation, such as compensation for non-material damage (e.g. ill-health caused by the procedure) or compensation for additional costs (e.g. the need for another paid repair procedure).
When a medical error involving you occurs in Poland, be aware of your rights.
Compensation benefit for a medical incident
A new possibility to claim for medical errors is to report a medical event to the Patient Ombudsman. A medical event, according to Polish legislation, is a situation that occurred during the provision of a healthcare service, as a result of its provision or as a result of failure to act, which could have been avoided by applying current medical knowledge or another available diagnostic or treatment method. This includes infection of the patient with a biological pathogen, bodily injury or patient’s health disorder and death of the patient.
The amount of the compensation benefit for a patient who has suffered bodily injury or health disorder or has succumbed to an infection is between PLN 2,000 and PLN 200,000. On the other hand, a close relative of a deceased patient who has made a claim can receive between PLN 20,000 and PLN 100,000.
In the case of bodily injury, the nature of the health consequences and the degree of discomfort resulting from the medical event, including the inconvenience of treatment, health impairment and deterioration in the quality of life are taken into account when determining the compensation benefit.
In the case of the death of a patient, the fact of being married at the time of death, the degree of relationship with the deceased, cohabitation, as well as the age of the claimant and the age of the deceased shall be taken into account.
What about medical errors in the field of aesthetic medicine?
A special category of medical errors are those related to aesthetic medicine procedures. The basic principles involved in pursuing claims in this type of case are similar to those indicated above.
As a rule, they do not aim to improve health. Nor do they aim to reduce the risk to the patient's life. They are primarily aimed at improving the patient's appearance (and therefore often his or her well-being).
When considering the issues of a doctor's possible liability for a medical error, reference should be made to the visual effects of the procedure and the patient's subjective belief that the procedure has been performed incorrectly. Of course, there may also be a situation where, during the performance of an aesthetic medicine procedure, the patient's body is injured or even patient is dead.
If the aesthetic medicine procedure did not meet your expectations and led to your disfigurement, you can pursue a claim against the doctor, the aesthetic medicine clinic or the insurance company providing them with cover. In such a situation, it is extremely important to properly document and prove your claims. You should collect photo documentation showing your appearance immediately after the procedure and have full medical records of the procedure.
It is worth pointing out the need for the doctor to give you full and comprehensive information about the planned surgery, its effects and potential risks. The doctor's failure to provide you with such information about the procedure may give rise to liability on his/her part, even if the procedure itself was successful.
Death of a foreigner on the territory of Poland
In extreme situations, it may happen that a loved one dies on the territory of Poland, for example due to a procedure performed incorrectly by a doctor. It is worth knowing the procedures for transporting the body to your country. It is up to the family to decide where to bury a foreigner who has died in Poland.
Before you leave, it is worth thinking about travel insurance which covers, among other things, the costs of transporting the corpse to your country. These costs are high and can be a heavy burden for the family of the deceased.
The right to apply for permission to transport the body and remains is generally held by the deceased's immediate family, namely:
1)the remaining spouse;
2)descendant relatives;
3)ascending relatives;
4)collateral relatives up to the 4th degree of consanguinity;
5)affinities in the direct line up to the 1st degree of kinship;
Relatives shall be notified of the death of a foreigner on the territory of Poland through the competent diplomatic representation or consular post.
Subsequently, it is necessary to obtain a permit from the competent state district sanitary inspector - note that in order to obtain this permit it is necessary to submit:
1)A death certificate or other document stating the death;
2)An official document stating the exclusion of a communicable disease as the cause of death;
3)The required documents of the competent authority of the State in whose territory the body and remains are to be buried;
4)Required documents from the authorities of the countries through whose territory the body and remains are to be transported, stating that there are no obstacles to the burial or entry of the body or remains into the territory of the country concerned.
An application for a permit to export human bodies and remains from the territory of the Republic of Poland is available online and on government websites.
