Patient rights

Patient rights are set out in the Polish Act of 6 November 2008 on Patient Rights and the Patient Ombudsman. Below is a short summary and how we apply them at the practice. The full text is available on the Patient Ombudsman's website.

Your rights

• The right to health services in line with current medical knowledge, provided with due care.
• The right to information — about your health, diagnosis, proposed methods of diagnosis and treatment, their consequences and alternatives, in an understandable way. You can also ask us not to tell you some information.
• The right to confidentiality of information about your health.
• The right to consent to an examination or other service — or to refuse.
• The right to privacy and dignity — only people you agree to are present during the visit.
• The right to medical records — to access them and obtain copies.
• The right to object to a doctor's opinion or certificate.
• The right to report adverse drug reactions — to the doctor or directly to the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products (URPL).

Consent to examination

Every examination, including trichoscopy, is carried out with your consent, after we have explained its purpose and how it works. For a patient under 16, consent is given by the legal representative; a patient aged 16 or over consents together with the legal representative. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Medical records

• We keep records of every visit. Trichoscopy photos are part of them.
• We make records available to you, your legal representative or a person you authorise — for inspection at the practice, or as a copy, extract or transcript, on paper or electronically.
• The first copy in the scope requested is free. For further copies we may charge a fee no higher than the limit in Art. 28 of the Patient Rights Act.
• You can ask in person, by phone or by email. We provide records without undue delay.
• Records are kept for 20 years from the end of the calendar year of the last entry (Art. 29 of the Patient Rights Act), unless the law provides otherwise.

Confidentiality and authorisations

We do not share information about your health with anyone without your consent, except where the law requires it. At your first visit you can name a person authorised to receive information about your health and your records — or name nobody. We do not give information about patients by phone to anyone whose identity we cannot confirm.

Objecting to a doctor's opinion

If a doctor's opinion or certificate affects your rights or obligations under the law, you can object within 30 days to the Medical Commission at the Patient Ombudsman (Art. 31 of the Patient Rights Act).

Where to get help

• With us first — +48 784 234 564, [email protected]. See Complaints.
• Patient Ombudsman (Rzecznik Praw Pacjenta), ul. Płocka 11/13, 01-231 Warsaw, free helpline 800 190 590 (24/7) — gov.pl/web/rpp.
• The Regional Professional Liability Officer at the Regional Medical Chamber in Warsaw (Okręgowa Izba Lekarska), ul. Puławska 18, 02-512 Warsaw — for matters concerning a doctor's conduct.