Can a celebrity be held accountable for promoting pseudo-medical services? The case of Ewa Chodakowska, Diagnostics and the Limits of the Law
Can a well-known fitness trainer be held liable for promoting a test package that, as doctors emphasize, has no basis in current medical knowledge? The case of Ewa Chodakowska and the Endomkit Diagnostics package has inflamed public opinion and alarmed experts. Patrycja Pieszczek-Bober, a trainee attorney and medical law specialist, discusses the possible legal consequences for celebrities promoting pseudo-medical content.
When a post by politykazdrowia.com appeared on LinkedIn about the scandal surrounding Ewa Chodakowska's promotion of the Endomkit test package prepared by Diagnostyka, numerous doubts arose in the comments as to whether the Patient Rights Ombudsman would investigate the matter and who would actually be responsible for such actions: Diagnostyka or/and Ewa Chodakowska.
The topic of the endometriosis detection kit (!), after […] an uproar not only in the medical community, was withdrawn, which doesn't change the fact that it's a topic for a separate thread, just like the aforementioned supplements, which, as it turns out, anyone can "develop," produce, and sell because existing legal regulations are practically nonexistent. Diagnostics – a marketing shot in the foot – we read in the comments below the post. "How much longer will such harmful practices remain unregulated?" – comments one internet user.
A discussion also arose about whether the Patient Rights Ombudsman could take action against a private individual, Ewa Chodakowska. Patrycja Pieszczek-Bober, a trainee attorney specializing in medical law and owner of Prawodozdrowia, assured the audience that the Ombudsman could investigate Diagnostyka's case as a medical entity. We asked what the legal procedures would be in such a situation.
Read more about it here
See also:
The controversial Endomkit research package , promoted by Ewa Chodakowska , raises a fundamental question: can a public figure be legally responsible for promoting misleading healthcare services ? According to Patrycja Pieszczek-Bober , this is currently legally nearly impossible.
"At this point, it's very unlikely that such a public figure will face consequences. Partly to counteract such situations, a draft amendment to the Patient Rights Act has been created, which will devote significant space to pseudo-medical practices. Medical disinformation is to be recognized as one form of such practices," explains the expert.
The proposed definition of medical disinformation refers to:
a misleading action consisting in the public dissemination or promotion of a diagnostic or therapeutic method [...] inconsistent with current medical knowledge, threatening life or health [...] undertaken for the purpose of obtaining financial or personal benefits.
Although the case has stirred up strong emotions, the current law doesn't provide many tools to hold influencers accountable. Patrycja Pieszczek-Bober notes:
In order to hold Ms. Ewa accountable under criminal or civil law, it would be necessary to prove that the package of tests she promoted, and the use of this offer instead of diagnostic methods proven to be effective, caused harm to a specific patient, for example, by worsening her health. In practice, proving this would be very difficult.
It is precisely the impossibility of assigning a direct effect that makes the individual responsibility of the celebrity remain illusory – even though the message may actually influence the health decisions of consumers.
In the legal counsel's opinion, the company that commissioned the misleading marketing message —in this case, Diagnostyka—may be primarily responsible. The legal basis for this may include, among other things , the Act on Combating Unfair Market Practices.
One of such provisions is, among others, Article 5 of the Act of 23 August 2007 on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices, according to which a market practice is considered misleading if such action in any way causes or may cause the average consumer to take a contractual decision that he or she would not have taken otherwise.
Pieszczek-Bober notes that if it weren't for the narrative about "getting closer to diagnosis ," many women likely wouldn't have decided to purchase the expensive testing package. The company that employs the influencer is responsible for how they implement the campaign.
Beyond the consumer aspect, there may also be a violation of patients' collective rights. However, as the lawyer points out, the regulations here also require supplementation:
Since we are dealing with medical services here, we should also consider it from the perspective of practices that violate collective patient rights (Article 59 of the Act of 6 November 2008 on Patients' Rights and the Patient Ombudsman). However, at this time, the list of activities that can be considered such practices is quite narrow.
The draft amendment expands the catalog to include so-called pseudo-medical practices – and these could form the basis for action against public figures. According to the expert, this is a necessary change.
Under current regulations, the Patient Rights Ombudsman and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection may address the matter. As Pieszczek-Bober points out:
This could be considered a misleading message to consumers, and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) could strongly intervene in this regard. The fact that these services are medical in nature does not preclude this office from acting in this area.
However, as the lawyer points out, the prosecutor's office likely won't pursue this case because there's no suspicion of a crime. While the matter raises public concern, not every ethical violation or questionable advertising activity is criminal in nature.
The case of Ewa Chodakowska and the company Diagnostyka highlights the dangers of "celebrity" medicine. According to doctors and experts , the Endomkit package was misleading, suggesting that endometriosis could be diagnosed through blood tests —a practice inconsistent with current guidelines from the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians.
While waiting for legislative changes, there remains a call for caution – and awareness that health is not a marketing product, and a celebrity is not a specialist.
See also:![Ewa Chodakowska, Endometriosis Package and the Limits of Marketing: Influencers and Health [COLUMN]](https://cdn.cmc-gallery.pl/static/files/gallery/541/thumb__1753082_1752245062.webp)
Meanwhile, Ewa Chodakowska is withdrawing from cooperation with Diagnostyka , and the company has issued a statement on the high-profile case, which you can read about here:
See also:
Updated: 15/07/2025 06:30
politykazdrowotna
