Legal Challenges for Romanian Family Medicine Practitioners in Times of COVID-19

The general practitioners (GPs’) practice faced serious challenges as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, including from a legal point of view. In this context, a series of questions related to the GPs’ professional activities might arise such as: (i) what happens if a doctor makes a mistake because he/she is exhausted, as a result of overtime2 or (ii) if he/she performs medical acts outside the boundaries of his/her own specialty or without consent, as requested by his/her own conscience, by the situation, by the authorities and by his/her principal? In all these special circumstances this could mean that the doctor fails to comply with the applicable law. Moreover, because he/she breaches the law, the professional insurance policy will cease to be applicable. With new roles and responsibilities, the GPs should adjust their practice to the current conditions.