Kamila Piątkowska, Agnieszka Ewa Zimmermann, Monika Gajewska

Aspects of pharmacists’ autonomy in modern healthcare

 

2025-12-05

Subject of study. The Pharmacy Profession Act of 10 December 2020 has changed the approach towards the functioning of the pharmaceutical profession in Poland. It introduced many important regulations, which structure the practice of pharmacy, especially the rule of pharmacists’ professional autonomy. Over the 5 years of the Act’s functioning, many doubts and questions have arisen about the application and proper interpretation of professional autonomy, which in turn served as the framework for analyzing its scope, limitations, and legal restrictions.

Aim of study. The purpose of this article wasto properly interpret the concept of professional autonomy in respect to the professional duties of  pharmacists who work in community pharmacies. It has been pointed out that professional autonomy has multiple dimensions, which pharmacists are able to use and should use in their everyday practice.

Materials and Methods. To present the proper and complex use of pharmacists’ professional autonomy, an analysis of current legislation, court jurisprudence, and exegesis of legal texts has been conducted. A comparison with foreign literature has also been carried out to identify effective solutions.

Results. The article discuses professional autonomy as a practical tool in occupational roles, highlighting key areas such as the scope of the work order under labor law, the employer’s authority in the context of employment’s subordination rule inherent in the employment contract, the obligation to substitute a drug with its generic equivalent and the obligation of providing professional information to patients. The role of the pharmacy manager and the attributes of his or her independence strengthen the legal provisions of the Pharmaceutical Law Act. Legal remedies for pharmacists’ independence guarantee an effective implementation of professional autonomy. There are many problematic situations that pharmacists encounter during their everyday practice, and it has been analyzed in connection with current legislation and foreign literature.

Conclusion. Legal and moral dilemmas arising from the attributes of professional independence have been found to be universal challenges for pharmacists in other countries as well. The rule of professional autonomy and its implementation are not only fundamental to the proper practice of the pharmacy profession but also the clue to the proper development of the pharmaceutical market in Poland. Only under these conditions is it possible to pursue the growth of the pharmacy profession and pharmacies as healthcare facilities that are closest to the patient.

Keywords: pharmacist, community pharmacy, professional autonomy, professional independence, pharmacy practice.

© Farm Pol, 2025, 81(4): 213–221