[Medical certification standards in the evaluation of inability to work]

The authors attempt to address the question whether it is possible to establish medical certification standards that would be helpful in assessing inability to work. The need for developing such relatively uniform certification standards is indicated in the Report of the Supreme Chamber of Control issued in July 2005. Searching for the answer to the question to what degree such standards can be established, the authors briefly present and review the presently enforced "certification standards" and provided several examples from the history of social security and medical certification in Poland. They also discuss the first Polish textbook of medical certification published by Dr. Franciszek Witaszek in 1935. Another "historical example" recalled in the paper is the textbook edited by Professor Karol Szaniewicz (1959) and entitled: "Medical certification for disability and employment". The authors also mention that several years ago, the Central Institute of Occupational Medicine published an "Occupational guide" that might be of help in developing certification standards in cases of inability to work.