Bill of rights of patients in Iran
Insights and Values:
Individual members of the society are committed to preserving and respecting the dignity of human beings. This is especially important in the condition of illness. According to the constitution, paying attention to human dignity is one of the basic principles of the Islamic Republic, and the government is obliged to provide health care services for every person in the country. Based on this, the provision of health services should be fair and based on respect for the rights and human dignity of patients.
This charter has been prepared according to the high human values and based on Islamic and Iranian culture and based on the equality of inherent dignity of all recipients of health services and with the aim of maintaining, promoting and strengthening the human relationship between providers and recipients of health services.
Patient rights
1- It is the patient’s right to receive optimal health services.
– The provision of health services must:
1-1) be worthy of human dignity and with respect for values, cultural and religious beliefs;
2-1) Be based on honesty, fairness, politeness and kindness;
1-3) be free from any discrimination, including ethnic, cultural, religious, type of disease and gender;
4-1) be based on current knowledge;
5-1) be based on the superiority of the patient’s interests;
6-1) regarding the distribution of health resources based on justice and treatment priorities of patients;
1-7) It should be based on the coordination of the elements of care including prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation;
8-1) along with the provision of all basic and necessary welfare facilities and away from imposing pain and suffering and unnecessary restrictions;
1-9) pay special attention to the rights of vulnerable groups in society, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, mental patients, prisoners, the mentally and physically disabled, and people without guardians;
1-10) as soon as possible and with respect to the patient’s time;
1-11) considering variables such as language, age and gender of service recipients;
12-1) In urgent care (emergency), it should be done regardless of its cost. In non-urgent (elective) cases, be based on defined rules;
1-13) In urgent and urgent care (emergency), if it is not possible to provide appropriate services, it is necessary to provide the basis for transferring the patient to an equipped unit after providing the necessary services and the necessary explanations;
1-14) In the final stages of life, when the condition of the disease is irreversible and the death of the patient is imminent, it should be provided with the aim of maintaining his comfort. Comfort means reducing the patient’s pain and suffering, paying attention to the psychological, social, spiritual and emotional needs of him and his family at the time of death. The dying patient has the right to be accompanied by the person he wants in the last moments of his life.
2- The information should be provided to the patient in a good way and in sufficient quantity.
1-2) The content of the information should include the following:
1-1-2) the provisions of the patient’s bill of rights at the time of admission;
2-1-2) predictable hospital conditions and costs, including medical and non-medical services, insurance conditions and the introduction of support systems at the time of admission;
3-1-2) The name, responsibility and professional rank of the members of the medical group responsible for providing care, including doctors, nurses and students, and their professional relationship with each other;
4-1-2) Diagnostic and treatment methods and the strengths and weaknesses of each method and its possible complications, disease diagnosis, prognosis and complications, as well as all the information influencing the patient’s decision-making process;
5-1-2) How to access the attending physician and the main members of the medical team during the treatment;
6-1-2) All actions that have a research nature.
7-1-2) providing necessary training for the continuation of treatment;
2-2 The way of providing information should be as follows:
1-2-2) Information should be provided at the right time and according to the patient’s conditions, including anxiety and pain, and his/her individual characteristics, including language, education, and comprehension, unless:
– delay in starting the treatment by providing the above information may cause harm to the patient; (In this case, the transfer of information should be done at the earliest convenient time after necessary action.)
– The patient, despite being informed of the right to receive information, refuses to do so, in which case the patient’s request must be respected, unless the patient’s lack of information puts him or others at serious risk;
2-2-2) The patient can have access to all the information recorded in his clinical file and receive its image and request the correction of the errors contained in it.
3- The patient’s right to freely choose and make decisions in receiving health services should be respected.
1-3) The range of selection and decision-making is about the following:
1-1-3) Selection of treating physician and center providing health services within the framework of criteria;
2-1-3) Choosing and asking the opinion of the second doctor as a consultant;
3-1-3) Participation or non-participation in any kind of research, with the assurance that his decision will not affect the continuation and manner of receiving health services;
4-1-3) Accepting or rejecting the suggested treatments after being aware of the possible side effects of accepting or rejecting them, except in cases of suicide or cases where refusing treatment puts another person at serious risk;
5-1-3) The patient’s previous opinion about the future treatment measures when the patient has decision-making capacity is recorded and used as a guide for medical measures when he/she lacks decision-making capacity, in accordance with the legal standards, in the consideration of the health service providers and the decision-maker replacing the patient. take
2-3) The selection and decision-making conditions include the following:
1-2-3) The patient’s choice and decision-making should be free and informed, based on receiving sufficient and comprehensive information (mentioned in the second paragraph);
2-2-3) After providing the information, the patient should be given enough time to make a decision and choose.
4- The provision of health services should be based on respecting the patient’s privacy (right to privacy) and respecting the principle of confidentiality.
1-4) It is mandatory to observe the principle of confidentiality regarding all information related to the patient, except in cases where the law has made an exception;
2-4) The patient’s privacy must be respected in all stages of care, both diagnostic and therapeutic. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide all necessary facilities to guarantee the patient’s privacy;
3-4) Only the patient and the treatment group and authorized persons on behalf of the patient and persons deemed authorized by law can access the information;
4-4) The patient has the right to have a trusted person with him during the diagnostic process, including examinations. Accompanying one of the child’s parents is the child’s right in all stages of treatment, unless this is against medical necessity.
5- Access to an efficient complaint handling system is a patient’s right.
5-1) Every patient has the right to complain to the competent authorities in case of violation of his rights, which is the subject of this charter, without disturbing the quality of receiving health services;
5-2) Patients have the right to be informed about the handling and results of their complaints;
3-5) The damage caused by the error of health service providers should be compensated in the shortest possible time after investigation and proof according to the regulations.
In implementing the provisions of this charter, if the patient lacks decision-making capacity for any reason, the exercise of all the rights of the patient, mentioned in this charter, will be the responsibility of the alternative legal decision-maker. Of course, if the substitute decision-maker prevents the patient’s treatment against the doctor’s opinion, the doctor can appeal the decision through the relevant authorities.
If a patient who lacks sufficient capacity to make a decision, but can make a reasonable decision in a part of the treatment process, his decision should be respected.
