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Rights of the Patient
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Rights of the Patient
Rights of the Patient
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has delivered a "Charter of Patients Rights" prepared by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
 
It includes all the lawful rights of the patients according to the Indian Constitution:
 
Right to know - The patients must be provided with information about their sickness, proposed investigation, complications and its analysis by the Physicians or their qualified assistants. The information should be given to the patient in simple language. The sufferers have the right to grasp the identity of every medical professional. The bill of the medication should be given in the written form.
 
Right to check reports and records - Patients or their caretakers can check the records and reports of their concerned patient. In the case of death of a patient, the hospital is accountable for providing a discharge abstract or a death abstract to their family members with the copies of investigations.
 
Right to receive medical care at the emergency - In the case of an emergency, the patient can avail treatment in any executive or confidential health facility. As per article 21, it is ensured that every person has the right to life and liberty; the patient has the right to get emergency care.
 
Right to give consent - The general practitioner has to give an explanation of the process and risks associated with the investigation or surgery in an easy language before getting the consent of the patient or the caretaker.
 
Right to have confidentiality and privacy - The code of ethics dictates medical professionals hold knowledge about the medication plan for the patient in a confidential manner. In the case of a female patient, if the clinical practitioner checking her is male, then she can demand the presence of the female nurse.
 
Right not to be discriminated based on medical care - The medical professionals shall not discriminate between patients based on their situation, HIV reputation or on their gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, linguistic or social origins.
 
Right to safety and quality - There is a list of provisions that are mentioned as per the standards of quality care.  It includes the cleanliness, safety and security, infection control measures, and sanitation facilities that abide by the latest guidelines under the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals, to be treated professionally with the principles of medical ethics and the right to seek redressal by the patient or their family members.
 
Right to choose an alternative treatment to cure their ailment - After a primary gain of knowledge, the patient can prefer to select a cure that is probably not the surgeon’s recommendation. It signifies that the patient prefers this substitute healing as they are going to shoulder the accountability of the consequences.
 
Right to have transparency in the treatment cost - The patient has the right to have transparency in the cost of treatment. It is necessary that hospitals are required to have printed brochures and distinguished rates. Charges need to be displayed in conspicuous places and must be in presented in the English and vernacular language.
 
Right to select the source for buying medicines or conducting tests - The patient has the right to decide from which registered pharmacy he wants to purchase the medicines or medical infants. The Patient also has a right to visit a laboratory of his choice to conduct various prescribed tests.
 
Right to protect the participants involved in health and biomedical research - In case if a patient is involved in a health or biomedical research system, the consent of the patient should be taken in a written format.
 
Right to discharge and the right to receive the dead body of a deceased patient from the hospital - A patient has the right to get discharged, and the caretakers have the right to receive the dead body of a patient. The hospital cannot detain the patient or in case of his death, his body, on procedural grounds of over a dispute for paying the charges of the hospital.

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