The professional self-government has the right of self-determination with regard to the organization and conditions of practice and control. By allowing such professional groups to exist, the state relinquishes the performance of certain public administration tasks to the self-government of these groups. The history of Polish medical self-government is associated with the end of the 19th century. In 1950, the development of medical chambers was stopped by the communist regime. The authorities decided to dissolve them. Political changes in the last two decades of the 20th century enabled the formation and establishment of a new political system. The efforts of Polish doctors to regain their professional self-government were linked to the democratisation processes of the Polish state in 1989. The Polish Chamber of Physicians and Dentists (Naczelna Izba Lekarska), the Regional Chambers of Physicians and Dentists (Okręgowe Izby Lekarskie), and Military Medical Chamber (Wojskowa Izba Lekarska) are the organisational bodies of the professional self-government of physicians and dentists.

Projekt dofinansowany ze środków budżetu państwa, przyznanych przez Ministra Edukacji i Nauki w ramach Programu „Społeczna Odpowiedzialność Nauki II” pt. „Współczesny obraz społeczeństwa polskiego w nauce i debacie publicznej”