Patient Rights Charter
Patient Rights Charter in Iran
1- It is the patient’s right to receive appropriate health services.
Health service delivery should:
1-1- Be worthy of human dignity and respect for cultural and religious values and beliefs.
1-2- It should be based on honesty, fairness, courtesy, and kindness.
1-3- Be free from any discrimination, including ethnic, cultural, religious, type of disease, and gender.
1-4- It should be based on up-to-date knowledge.
1.5- Be based on the primacy of the patient’s interests.
1.6- Regarding the distribution of health resources, it should be based on justice and patients’ treatment priorities.
1-7- It should be based on the coordination of the elements of care, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.
1-8- Along with providing all basic and necessary amenities and away from imposing unnecessary pain, suffering, and restrictions.
1-9- Pay special attention to the rights of vulnerable groups in society, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, the mentally ill, prisoners, the mentally and physically disabled, and people without guardians.
1-10- As quickly as possible and with respect for the patient’s time.
1-11- Taking into account variables such as language, age, and gender of service recipients.
1-12- In urgent and urgent care (emergency), it should be provided regardless of the cost. In non-urgent cases, it should be based on defined criteria.
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 explanations.
1-14- In the final stages of life, when the patient’s condition is irreversible and death is imminent, it should be provided with the aim of maintaining his comfort. Comfort means reducing the patient’s pain and suffering, and paying attention to the psychological, social, spiritual and emotional needs of the patient and his family at the time of death. The dying patient has the right to be accompanied in the last moments of his life by the person he wants.
2- Information must be provided to the patient in an appropriate and sufficient manner.
2.1- The content of the information must include the following:
2-1-1- Provisions of the Patient’s Charter of Rights at the time of admission
2-1-2- The hospital’s predictable criteria and costs, including medical and non-medical services, insurance criteria, and introduction of support systems at the time of admission.
2-1-3- The names, responsibilities, and professional ranks of the members of the medical team responsible for providing care, including the physician, nurse, and student, and their professional relationship with each other.
2-1-4- Diagnostic and therapeutic methods, the strengths and weaknesses of each method and its possible complications, diagnosis of the disease, its prognosis and complications, as well as all information that affects the patient’s decision-making process.
2-1-5- How to access the treating physician and key members of the medical team during treatment
2-1-6- All actions that are of a research nature.
2-1-7- Providing necessary training for continued treatment
2.2- The method of presenting information should be as follows:
2-2-1- Information must be provided to the patient at an appropriate time and in accordance with his/her conditions, including anxiety and pain, and his/her individual characteristics, including language, education, and ability to understand, unless delaying the start of treatment due to the provision of the above information causes harm to the patient, or the patient refuses to receive information despite being informed of his/her right to receive information, in which case the patient’s wishes must be respected unless the patient’s lack of information exposes him/her or others to new risks.
2-2-2- The patient can access all information recorded in his clinical record, receive a copy of it, and request correction of errors in it.
3- The patient’s right to freely choose and decide on receiving health services must be respected.
3.1- The scope of selection and decision-making is as follows:
3-1-1- Choosing a treating physician and health service provider within the framework of the criteria
3-1-2- Selecting and seeking the opinion of a second physician as a consultant
3-1-3- Participation or non-participation in any research, with the assurance that his/her decision will not affect the continuity and manner of receiving health services.
3-1-4- Accepting or rejecting proposed treatments after being aware of the possible complications resulting from accepting or rejecting them, except in cases of suicide or cases where refusing treatment puts another person at serious risk.
3-1-5- The patient’s prior statement of opinion regarding future treatment measures should be recorded when the patient has the capacity to make decisions and should serve as a guide for medical measures when the patient lacks the capacity to make decisions, in compliance with the legal standards considered by health service providers and the decision-maker on behalf of the patient.
3.2- The selection and decision-making conditions include the following:
3-2-1- The patient’s choice and decision-making must be free and informed, based on receiving sufficient and comprehensive information (mentioned in the second paragraph).
3-2-2- After providing information, the patient should be given sufficient time to make a decision and make a choice.
4- The provision of health services must be based on respect for the patient’s privacy (right to privacy) and adherence to the principle of confidentiality.
4-1- It is mandatory to observe the principle of confidentiality regarding all patient-related information, except in cases where the law makes an exception.
4-2- The patient’s privacy must be respected in all stages of care, including diagnostic and therapeutic. For this purpose, it is essential to provide all necessary facilities to guarantee the patient’s privacy.
4-3- Only the patient, the treatment team, and individuals authorized by the patient and individuals deemed authorized by law can access the information.
4-4- The patient has the right to be accompanied by a trusted person during diagnostic procedures, including examinations. The child has the right to be accompanied by one of the child’s parents during all stages of treatment, unless this is contrary to medical necessity.
5- Access to an efficient complaints handling system is a patient’s right.
5.1- Every patient has the right to complain to the competent authorities if they claim that their rights, which are the subject of this charter, have been violated, without disrupting the quality of health services they receive.
5.2- Patients have the right to be informed about the handling and results of their complaint.
5.3- Damage caused by the errors of health service providers must be compensated in the shortest possible time after investigation and proof in accordance with regulations.
In implementing the provisions of this Charter, if the patient lacks decision-making capacity for any reason, the exercise of all the patient’s rights – mentioned in this Charter – will be the responsibility of the legal substitute decision-maker. However, if the substitute decision-maker prevents the patient from being treated, contrary to the doctor’s opinion, the PEZAK can appeal the decision through the relevant authorities.
If a patient lacks sufficient capacity to make decisions but can make reasonable decisions regarding part of the treatment process, their decision should be respected.