Poland’s Health Minister Niedzielski has handed in his resignation. The background is a possible violation of medical confidentiality. On Twitter he had published details of a critic’s health history.
Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski has resigned after releasing medical data from a doctor who criticized one of his reforms.
“I have decided to accept the resignation of Health Minister Adam Niedzielski,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of the right-wing ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party told journalists. His successor will be PiS MP Katarzyna Sojka.
Medical Association speaks of injured confidentiality
The non-party Niedzielski had been criticized by experts for a reform that restricted the possibility of online prescriptions for medicines. On August 4, the minister then shared the name of his critic on the short message service X, formerly Twitter, and added that the doctor had prescribed himself psychotropic drugs and painkillers.
The Polish Medical Association criticized this as a violation of medical confidentiality and announced that it “sees no further opportunity to work with Minister Niedzielski”. Chamber chairman Jankowski also announced a criminal complaint because the minister had exceeded his powers.
Niedzielski had resisted the criticism in an official statement on Saturday. As a minister, he has the legal right to inspect prescriptions that doctors issue for themselves. No one hacked into the doctor’s or patient’s individual electronic account. He just wanted to correct an untrue statement on television.