Poland moves to regulate smartphones in psychiatric wards and doctors' work‑time tracking

President of Poland’s data‑protection office, Mirosław Wróblewski, has called for clear legislation governing the use of smartphones on closed psychiatric wards. He stresses the need to balance patients’ right to contact relatives with the protection of personal health data and privacy, and offered expert assistance to the Ministry of Health in drafting new rules.

Separately, the National Medical Association (NIL) has responded to proposals by local authorities to introduce electronic entry cards and time‑recording systems for doctors and nurses in hospitals. While the association accepts reasonable workplace controls, it warns against excessive monitoring that could become absurd. The suggested systems could cost over 100,000 zł to implement and aim to address reported irregularities in medical staffing.