Patient Rights in Poland: Records, Consent and Complaints
Short answer: Polish law gives patients - including foreigners - the right to information about their health, to consent or refuse treatment, to confidentiality, to access their medical records with the first copy free, and to hospital contact rights, all in the Act on Patient Rights (Dz.U. 2024 poz. 581).
As a patient in Poland - insured or paying privately - you carry a set of statutory rights that clinics and hospitals cannot contract out of: information about your condition, consent before treatment, confidentiality, access to your full medical records, and a free first copy of them. As of October 14, 2026, they live in the Act on Patient Rights and the Patient Rights Ombudsman (consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 poz. 581). Here is what you can actually invoke, article by article.
The right to information about your health
You have a right to information about your state of health (art. 9 ust. 1). Concretely, a medical professional must give you an accessible explanation of your condition, the diagnosis, the proposed and possible diagnostic and treatment methods, the foreseeable consequences of using them or not using them, the treatment results and the prognosis (art. 9 ust. 2). Two useful details:
- You can authorize other people - a partner, a family member - to receive that information (art. 9 ust. 3). Do this explicitly; without it, staff cannot lawfully discuss your case with them.
- You can also refuse the information yourself - the right not to know is protected too (art. 9 ust. 4).
Consent: treatment needs your yes
After receiving the information above, you have the right to consent to specific health services - or to refuse consent (art. 16). Consent covers examinations and other services (art. 17 ust. 1), and the rule reaches further than many expats expect:
- Minors aged 16 and over hold their own right to consent (art. 17 ust. 1), alongside their legal representative's.
- Where a patient cannot consciously consent - a small child, an incapacitated person - the legal representative decides, and for examinations an actual carer can step in if there is no representative (art. 17 ust. 2).
Confidentiality is the default
Everyone in a medical profession who treats you must keep information connected with you - above all your health data - secret (art. 13-14). This is why Polish clinics will not confirm to your employer, your landlord or your mother-in-law that you were even there, and why the authorization under art. 9 ust. 3 matters if you *want* someone else informed.
Your medical records - and the free first copy
You have the right of access to the medical records concerning your health and the services you received (art. 23 ust. 1). The provider must give you access - you can inspect the records on site and take notes or photos (art. 27 ust. 1 pkt 1), and you can get an extract, copy or printout, records electronically, or on a data carrier (art. 27 ust. 1 pkt 2-5).
On cost, the law is precise (art. 28):
- The first copy for you or your legal representative, in the scope you request, is free (art. 28 ust. 2a pkt 1).
- Beyond that, the provider may charge, but the statute caps the maximum fee: 0.002 of the national average salary per page of an extract or copy, 0.00007 per page of a copy or printout, and 0.0004 per electronic data carrier - the multipliers track the GUS average salary of the previous quarter, so the zloty caps shift each quarter (art. 28 ust. 4).
After a patient's death, the records go to the person they authorized in life or to their legal representative, and also to a close person - unless another close person objects or the patient objected in life; disputes between close persons go to court (art. 26 ust. 2-2b).
In hospital: contact, dignity, company
For inpatient stays, the act protects daily life inside the ward:
- You have the right to personal, phone and correspondence contact with other people - and equally the right to refuse contact (art. 33).
- You have the right to additional nursing care, which importantly covers the right of a legal representative or actual carer to stay with a hospitalized minor, a patient with a severe disability certificate, or support around pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period (art. 34).
If something goes wrong: the Patient Rights Ombudsman
Poland has a dedicated national body - the Patient Rights Ombudsman (Rzecznik Praw Pacjenta). The Ombudsman opens explanatory proceedings when information makes a violation of patient rights probable (art. 50 ust. 1), can demand documents and information, and acts against practices violating the collective rights of patients (art. 59, 61). The office also runs a free helpline and takes complaints online. For an individual dispute, the practical ladder is: the provider's own complaint channel first, then the Ombudsman, then - for money - the civil courts.
Frequently asked questions
### Can I get my Polish medical records as a foreigner?
Yes. The right of access in art. 23 belongs to the patient, with no citizenship condition. Inspection on site is free, and the first copy you request is free as well (art. 28 ust. 2a pkt 1).
Can my doctor in Poland discuss my case with my spouse?
Only if you consent to information being given to that person (art. 9 ust. 3). Medical confidentiality under art. 13-14 covers everyone outside the treating team by default.
Do I have to consent to treatment in Poland?
Yes - after being informed, you may consent to or refuse specific health services (art. 16-17). Minors who have turned 16 hold their own consent right.
Who do I complain to about a Polish clinic or hospital?
Start with the provider's complaint channel; escalate to the Patient Rights Ombudsman (Rzecznik Praw Pacjenta), which investigates violations of patient rights under art. 50, and for compensation claims, the civil courts.
