Patient Safety Rights

Patient safety rights are a fundamental aspect of healthcare, emphasizing the importance of preventing harm to patients during their treatment. Read here to learn more.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) emphasizes the fundamental dignity and equality of all human beings.

Based on this concept, the notion of Patient Rights has been developed across the globe in the last few decades.

The concept of patient safety rights revolves around the entitlements and protections patients should receive to ensure they are treated safely, effectively, and with dignity.

Patient Safety

Patient safety refers to the processes, procedures and cultures established in health systems that promote safety and minimise the risk of harm to patients.

• Everyone has the right to safe health care, as established by international human rights standards, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity or race, language, religion, disability, socioeconomic status or any other status.
• Patient safety can be compromised due to avoidable errors such as unsafe surgical procedures, medication errors, mis- or late diagnosis, poor injection practices, unsafe blood transfusion and the onset of life-threatening infections such as sepsis and other healthcare-associated infections.
• Patient harm in health care is a global challenge.
• It occurs in countries of all income settings and at all levels of healthcare delivery.
• Harm to patients rarely results from a single incident, but due to process failures because of poorly designed health systems.

Patient safety rights

There is a growing consensus at the international level that all patients must enjoy certain basic rights.

In other words, the patient is entitled to a certain amount of protection to be ensured by physicians, healthcare providers and the State, which has been codified in various societies and countries in the form of Charters of Patient’s Rights.

1. Right to Informed Consent

• Patients have the right to be fully informed about their medical condition, treatment options, potential risks, and benefits.
• This ensures that they can make knowledgeable decisions about their healthcare.
• Informed consent is fundamental, allowing patients to understand the implications and potential outcomes of medical interventions.

2. Right to Respect and Dignity

• This right ensures that patients are treated with respect, recognizing their dignity, beliefs, culture, and privacy.
• Healthcare providers must ensure that patient care is delivered with respect for individual needs and circumstances.

3. Right to Safe Care

• Patients have the right to receive care that is free from unnecessary harm.
• This includes the proper use of medications, surgeries, and other treatments. Healthcare systems are obligated to maintain safety standards that minimize the risks of errors, infections, and accidents.

4. Right to Privacy and Confidentiality

• Patients are entitled to confidentiality regarding their medical information.
• This right protects personal health information from unauthorized access, sharing, or breaches, except where disclosure is required by law or necessary for patient care.

5. Right to Be Informed of Medical Errors

• If a medical error occurs, patients have the right to be informed promptly.
• Transparency in such instances is crucial for maintaining trust between healthcare providers and patients, and for learning from mistakes to improve safety systems.

6. Right to Participation in Care Decisions

• Patients should be involved in every decision about their care.
• This includes the right to discuss and request alternative treatments, to refuse treatment, and to seek second opinions.
• Patient involvement is essential for ensuring that care decisions align with their values and preferences.

7. Right to Continuity of Care

• Patients have the right to coordinated and continuous healthcare.
• This involves clear communication among healthcare providers, proper follow-ups, and the transfer of information necessary to provide ongoing health management across different care settings.

8. Right to Access Emergency Services

• When in need, patients have the right to access emergency services without unnecessary delays.
• Hospitals and healthcare providers must ensure that emergency procedures are in place and accessible to those who need them urgently.

9. Right to Redress

• Patients have the right to a fair response when their safety is compromised.
• This includes the ability to file complaints and to receive a formal review of the issue and, where appropriate, compensation.

10. Right to Education and Information

• Patients should have access to information that helps them make informed health decisions and manage their health effectively.
• This includes education about preventive measures, potential health risks, and healthy lifestyle choices.

11. Right to records and reports

• Every patient or his caregiver has the right to access originals/copies of case papers, indoor patient records, and investigation reports (during the period of admission, preferably within 24 hours and after discharge, within 72 hours).

12. Right to second opinion

• Every patient has the right to seek a second opinion from an appropriate clinician of the patient’/caregivers’ choice.

13. Right to non-discrimination

• Every patient has the right to receive treatment without any discrimination based on his or her illnesses or conditions, including HIV status or other health conditions, religion, caste, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, linguistic or geographical /social origins.

14. Right to safety and quality care according to standards

• Medical establishments must provide a safe and clean environment for treatment.

15. Right to choose alternative treatment options if available

• Once a patient or their caregiver are informed of their treatment options, they are free to choose the course ahead.
• They cannot be compelled to follow a certain treatment without their will, even if the doctor deems it necessary.

16. Right to choose the source for obtaining medicines and tests

• When medicines or tests are prescribed to a patient, it is up to them to decide where they want to purchase them from.
• It is guaranteed as their right as a consumer to have access to a variety of goods or services at competitive prices.

17. Right to proper referral and transfer, which is free from perverse commercial influence

• All patients have a right to receive seamless service and quality of care being upheld when the patient is referred to a different doctor or the patient is transferred to a different facility.

18. Right to protection for patients involved in clinical trials

• Participants of all clinical trials in India have rights such as claiming compensation in case of trial-related injury or death, confidentiality of personal information etc.

19. Right to protection of participants involved in biomedical and health research

• The National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research Involving Human Participants have to be followed to ensure rights are given to the participants.

20. Right to take discharge of patient, or body of deceased from the hospital

• During any point in the treatment, a patient is free to be discharged or leave the hospital.
• They cannot be held without their will or kept in the hospital by force.
• Similarly, caretakers of a deceased patient have the right to receive their body from the hospital.

Why in the news?

WHO launched a Patient Safety Rights Charter at the Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety.

• It is the first Charter to outline patients’ rights in the context of safety and will support stakeholders in formulating the legislation, policies and guidelines needed to ensure patient safety.

Patient Safety Rights Charter

The Charter covers 10 patient safety rights crucial to mitigate risks and prevent inadvertent harm, which include the right to timely, effective, and appropriate care, the right to safe health care processes and practices, the right to qualified and competent staff and the right to patient and family engagement amongst others.

The 10 fundamental patient safety rights outlined in the Charter are the right to:

1. Timely, effective and appropriate care;
2. Safe health care processes and practices;
3. Qualified and competent health workers;
4. Safe medical products and their safe and rational use;
5. Safe and secure health care facilities;
6. Dignity, respect, non-discrimination, privacy and confidentiality;
7. Information, education and support decision-making
8. Access medical records;
9. To be heard and fair resolution;
10. Patient and family engagement.

Improving patient safety through systemic and systematic action is a global priority identified in the World Health Assembly resolution 72.6 – Global Action on Patient Safety and the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030.

• The Charter will provide healthcare workers, healthcare leaders and governments with the tools to build patient-centred healthcare systems, improving patient safety and reducing the risk of harm.
• Importantly, the charter will provide patients with language to advocate for themselves in healthcare settings, and will facilitate continued collaboration between patients, their families and caregivers, communities and health systems to ensure everyone has access to high-quality safe, health care.

Patients’ safety rights in India

In India, there are various legal provisions related to Patient’s Rights which are scattered across different legal documents-

• The Constitution of India, Article 21
• Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002;
• The Consumer Protection Act 1986;
• Drugs and Cosmetic Act 1940,
• Clinical Establishment Act 2010;
• Rules and standards framed therein; various judgments given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India
• Decisions of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

Conclusion

Enforcing these rights involves legal frameworks, hospital policies, patient advocacy, education, and a culture of safety within healthcare institutions. Ongoing training for healthcare professionals on the principles of patient safety, patient-centered care, and ethical practices is crucial.

Patient safety rights are essential for ensuring that healthcare systems operate effectively and ethically, respecting and protecting the well-being of every patient they serve.

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-Article by Swathi Satish