Patient Rights

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• Patient Rights
• Communication
• Informed Consent
• Confidentiality
• The Right to Health Care
• Abandonment
• Right to Refuse Care
• Legal Principles in Medicine
• Medical Research and Patients' Rights
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Patient Rights

What can I do if I disagree with my HMO? What does the doctor have to tell me about my upcoming operation? Can I withhold medical treatment for my child? Does my teenager have to get permission for an abortion? Users of health care in America are asking these and many other questions concerning health care in America, and many groups are trying to define patients' rights.

In the rapidly changing atmosphere of health care, many factors have affected how health care is practiced. The rights of the patient have also been affected. Patient rights have recently become the center of national attention in the practice of medicine. The push for legislation of a patients' bill of rights is to provide laws that would prevent health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and other managed health plans from refusing to pay for appropriate care.

But what exactly does patient rights mean? Often, people do not realize their specific rights at the time of their care because those rights are often not clearly defined.

• A patient's rights occur at many different levels, and in all specialties. The American Medical Association (AMA) outlines fundamental elements of the doctor-patient relationship in their Code of Medical Ethics. These rights include the following:
  • The right to receive information from physicians and to discuss the benefits, risks, and costs of appropriate treatment alternatives
  • The right to make decisions regarding the health care that is recommended by the physician
  • The right to courtesy, respect, dignity, responsiveness, and timely attention to health needs
  • The right to confidentiality
  • The right to continuity of health care
  • The basic right to have adequate health care
  
  
• Patients often have certain responsibilities for ensuring their rights. According to the AMA, physicians should also serve as advocates for patients and promote these basic rights. Every time a patient visits a doctor, both parties are seeking answers to these questions:
  • Diagnosis: What is wrong with the patient?
  • Prognosis: What does the diagnosis mean for the patient?
  • Caring and management component: What can be done for the patient?
  • Research dimension: What can the doctor learn from this patient?
  • Public health dimension: How can others benefit from the treatment process of this patient?
  • Educational opportunities: What can the patient and the professionals learn from this experience and teach others?