Codification of patients' rights in Poland--the Patients' Rights Act 2008

The Act of 6 November 2008 on Patients' Rights and the Commissioner for Patients' Rights collect and safeguard patients' basic rights as well as provide, for the first time in Poland, an original concept for patients' collective rights. In addition, the new Act stipulates the specific mechanism for protecting patients' rights by the newly established body called the Commissioner for Patients' Rights. Polish reform of medical law will undoubtedly contribute to the expected ratification of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. However, the nature of codified rights is relatively abstract, and the Act cannot be read without reference to legislation related to physicians and health care institutions.