In July 2023, the regulation of the Minister of Health on professional skills of physicians and dentists came into force. It defines categories of professional competencies along with their codes, and outlines the qualifications required to obtain a professional skills certificate, including in the field of aesthetic and reconstructive medicine.
According to representatives of industry organizations in the cosmetic and aesthetic services sector, the effects of these regulations extend beyond the medical community. They also influence the rules governing the performance of certain cosmetic and aesthetic procedures. The new framework has led to inconsistencies in determining who is authorized to carry out specific treatments, as well as uncertainty regarding the interpretation of the rules by public authorities (including tax authorities). At the same time, the solutions introduced in 2023 may result in the unfair exclusion of some entities from the market and create obstacles to conducting business activities.
With this in mind, the SME Ombudsman, Agnieszka Majewska, has appealed to the Minister of Finance and Economy, Andrzej Domański, and the Minister of Health, Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda, calling for actions that would ensure legal certainty for entrepreneurs regarding the principles of conducting business and would clearly and transparently define the rules of market functioning.
Minister Majewska primarily advocates for the establishment of legal definitions of “aesthetic and reconstructive medicine,” which may be provided exclusively by physicians, and a legal definition of “aesthetic procedures,” which may be performed by individuals with appropriate professional training. According to the SME Ombudsman, certain procedural boundaries also require clarification—specifically, which treatments should be classified as medical in nature and which as purely aesthetic. Noting that in some areas of beauty treatments physicians and cosmetic-aesthetic service providers compete within the same relevant market, Agnieszka Majewska writes: “Fair competition is both desirable and appropriate; however, for it to develop correctly and for the benefit of all, it is necessary to establish rules that support it and treat all participants adequately and equally.”
In Minister Majewska’s view, the development of effective regulations requires cooperation among all relevant social partners and public administration bodies. Therefore, she recommends establishing a multilateral commission composed of representatives of the Minister of Health, the Minister of Economy, authorities responsible for sanitary and hygiene oversight, representatives of the medical community, the cosmetic and aesthetic services sector, as well as the SME Ombudsman. The commission’s purpose would be to engage in substantive discussions and jointly develop clear, agreed-upon regulations and procedures for both medical and aesthetic treatments—an element currently missing from the applicable legislation.
