Patient rights

Patient rights are those basic rule of conduct between patients and medical caregivers as well as the institutions and people that support them. A patient is anyone who has requested to be evaluated by or who is being evaluated by any healthcare professional.

Definition

Patient rights vary greatly from one country to another, so this article mainly focuses on the rights in the United States, as the concept of patient rights was first codified there.

History

The concept of patient rights was first discussed in 1948, with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. This was followed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1966. Both of these international documents included statements about the rights of individuals to health and medical care.

Rights

In the United States, the American Hospital Association (AHA) has published a "Patient's Bill of Rights" which is designed to help patients feel more confident in the U.S. health care system. The Patient's Bill of Rights was first adopted by the American Hospital Association in 1973 and revised in October 1992. Patient rights in the U.S. include the right to informed consent, the right to privacy, the right to refuse treatment, and the right to receive a copy of one's medical records.

See also

• Health care provider
• Health care
• Medical ethics
• Patient advocacy
• Patient empowerment

References

Patient rights Resources
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