@Article{Świątkowska-Flis2026,
journal="Medical Studies/Studia Medyczne",
issn="1899-1874",
year="2026",
title="Human
studies other than clinical trials: the\ role of\ a\ medical
therapeutic experiment in the\ Polish legal system",
abstract=" In  accordance with Polish law, doctors are entitled to conduct two types  of\ medical experiments: research and therapeutic. The\ research  experiment focuses on expanding medical knowledge, and it can be  carried out in patients or healthy subjects. The\ participants in  these experiments are not exposed to risk, or the\ risk is small  and proportionate to the\ effects. By contrast, therapeutic  experiments involve the\ use of\ new or only partially tested  diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic methods that can only be  used if the\ existing methods are ineffective or provide  insufficient efficacy. The\ aim of\ a\ therapeutic  experiment is to improve the\ health of\ a\ patient, and  it may offer the\ only chance to improve or maintain  the\ patient’s condition. A\ medical experiment must be  approved by an independent bioethics committee. Herein, we provide an  analysis of\ Polish legal documents and their relevance to  medical experiments. ",
author="Świątkowska-Flis, Beata
and Statowski, Wojciech
and Wójcicka, Małgorzata
and Flis, Michał",
doi="10.5114/ms.2026.161807",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/ms.2026.161807"
}