President of the Personal Data Protection Office met with the President of the Supreme Medical Council

On 28 April, a meeting took place at the headquarters of the Personal Data Protection Office between its President, Mirosław Wróblewski, and the President of the Supreme Medical Council, Łukasz Jankowski. The discussion focused on issues related to medical confidentiality and the need for legislative changes that would effectively guarantee the protection of patients’ sensitive data in an era of rapidly developing technologies, including artificial intelligence.

Intensive cooperation between the Personal Data Protection Office and the Supreme Medical Council has been ongoing since March 2025, when both institutions signed a cooperation agreement. Representatives of both bodies participate in joint projects and initiatives. The institutions work together to promote the principles of personal data protection in the healthcare sector, particularly in relation to the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS).

“Medical confidentiality is the foundation of trust between a patient and a doctor and must be treated as a value requiring special protection – especially in the era of the dynamic development of artificial intelligence and the processing of a patient’s medical data simultaneously by multiple entities. Therefore, clear and modern regulations are necessary to safeguard sensitive data while not limiting the potential for the development of the healthcare system. At the same time, any initiatives concerning data collection, including those relating to doctors’ remuneration, must be designed with the utmost care and respect for the right to privacy,” emphasised Dr Łukasz Jankowski, President of the Supreme Medical Council.

The meeting also addressed planned solutions concerning the collection of remuneration data based on the PESEL number, highlighting the need for particular caution and appropriate safeguards in this area, as well as pointing out the lack of a clearly defined purpose for introducing such measures given the data already held by the Ministry of Health.

“Technology should serve people. Its use in medicine has enormous potential. Access to data is essential both for diagnostics and for the daily care of patients. However, it must be remembered that data controllers are obliged to fulfil the duties arising from the GDPR, including those relating to the processing of special categories of data, which also include health data,” said Mirosław Wróblewski, President of the Personal Data Protection Office.

Both Presidents stressed the need for cooperation should an initiative be undertaken to collect remuneration data linked to the PESEL number, so as to ensure the highest level of personal data protection.