Kamila Piątkowska

Pharmacist’s legal protection – the public officer status
2024-02-03

Working with patients carries an increased risk of aggression and violence. Not only physicians, paramedics, and nurses, but also pharmacists, are endangered. This was especially visible during the state of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Poland, when pharmacists were facing physical violence in the pharmacies. In situations of violence, the protection of medical professionals is increased by granting them the public officer’s status. Because of that, all acts of aggression are punished much more severely, and the penalties in the criminal code are intensified. Since pharmacists are also considered public officers, they also have the special protection and privileges.

The aim of the work was to analyze legal provisions concerning pharmacists’ legal protection as if for public officers. The analysis was carried out on the basis of the initial parliamentary bill, further provisions adopted as an amendment to the Pharmacist Profession Act of 10 December 2020, and the provisions on the public officer found in the Polish Criminal Code. The article presents the scope of the public officer status and sets it against unique aspects of the Polish legislation. Polish legal regulations that govern the status of public officers result from many special acts, as in the case of the medical profession. What is more, the status only assures privileges and protection without burdening medical professionals with additional responsibilities. There was also a comparison between pharmacists’ legal status and legal provisions stating the status of a public officer towards physicians, dentists, nurses and midwives. The representatives of those medical professions have been legally considered public officers for many years now, so it is possible to analyze the functioning of the provisions in practice.

Provisions giving pharmacists the status due to a public officer are a good start in Polish legislation and offer legal protection to some Polish pharmacists, however they need to be extended hence the de lege ferenda postulates.

Keywords: responsibility, pharmacist, community pharmacy, pharmacy practice.

© Farm Pol, 2023, 79(11): 711–719