Theorists and practitioners discussed medicine, law, and their interconnections

A person holds open a conference brochure with the program of the 3rd National Forum on Medical Law and Ethics. The headings, names of speakers and panel times are visible. A finger points to a section of text. In the background are fuzzy chairs.

The Medical University of Warsaw once again hosted the National Forum on Medical Law and Medical Ethics named in honor of Dr. Paweł Wójcik. Over two days of debates, experts discussed upcoming changes resulting not only from the adoption of the new Code of Medical Ethics but also from anticipated and much-needed legal reforms.

The Forum took place on May 23–24 and was divided into eight discussion panels, featuring a total of 47 presentations. The speakers included legal professionals as well as academics and ethicists. The event was opened by Dr. Maria Boratyńska, Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly Medical Law Review, and faculty member at both the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw and the Medical University of Warsaw.

What was discussed during the Forum

In keeping with the Forum’s tradition, all presentations were prepared with physicians in mind. The aim is to provide them with guidance that may assist in their future medical practice, supporting both patient rights and autonomy on the one hand and professional safety on the other. However, the Forum is not limited to physicians alone – organizers also welcome participants from other healthcare professions, academic institutions, and the legal community.

This year’s edition provided many important insights considering the newly adopted Code of Medical Ethics. Topics included, for example, new regulations on maintaining medical records, physicians’ legal obligations regarding cybersecurity, the structure of informed consent before and after the Code's revision, and patient consent for the use of artificial intelligence algorithms in medical practice under Article 12 of the new code. Other sessions explored additional aspects of AI in healthcare, as well as legal issues related to the use of popular e-service platforms – such as patient liability for negative online reviews of doctors and physician liability for paid promotional campaigns on such platforms. The final panel was dedicated to mental health and medical ethics as a tool in combating medical disinformation. The discussion addressed difficult subjects such as futile therapy, euthanasia, and the legal and ethical dilemmas of conducting medical experiments involving pregnant women.

Link to the conference agenda page with all topics and speaker

Event organizers

The event was organized by the Medical University of Warsaw, the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Criminal Medical and Pharmaceutical Law, and the Bioethics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The Forum was held under the honorary patronage of the Rector of the Medical University of Warsaw. The conference is closely tied to the activities of the academic journal Medical Law Review. Both initiatives complement one another, helping to expand the academic discourse on medical law and medical ethics.

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