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PATIENTS RIGHTS

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PATIENTS RIGHTS
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The Rights of the Patients

1. Right to Appropriate Medical Care and

Humane Treatment. - Every person has a right
to health and medical care corresponding to
his state of health, without any discrimination
and within the limits of the resources,
manpowerand competence available for health
and medical care at the relevant time. The
patient has the right to appropriate health and
medical care of good quality. In the course of
such, his human dignity, convictions, integrity,
individual needs and culture shall be
respected. If any person cannot immediately
be given treatment that is medically necessary
he shall, depending on his state of health,
either be directed to wait for care, or be
reffered or sent for treatment elsewhere, where
the appropriate care can be provided. If the
patient has to wait for care, he shall be
informed of the reason for the delay. Patients in
emergency shall be extended immediate
medical care and treatment without any
deposit, pledge, mortgage or any form of
advance paymentfor treatment.

2. Right to Informed Consent. - The patient

has a right to a clear, truthful and substantial
explanation, in a manner and language
understandable to the patient, of all proposed
procedures, whether diagnostic, preventive,
curative, rehabilitative or therapeutic, wherein
the person who will perform the said procedure
shall provide his name and credentials to
the patient, possibilities of any risk of
mortality or serious side effects, problems
related to recuperation, and probability of
success and reasonable risks involved:
Provided, That the patient will not be
subjected to any procedure without his written
informed consent, except in the following
cases:

a) in emergency cases, when the patient is at

imminent risk of physical injury, decline Of
death if treatment is withheld or postponed. In
such cases, the physician can perform any
diagnostic or treatment procedure as good
practice of medicine dictates without such
consent;
b) when the health of the population is
dependent on the adoption of a mass health
program to control epidemic;
c) when the law makes it compulsory for
everyone to submit a procedure;
d) When the patient is either a minor, or legally
incompetent, in which case. a third party
consent Is required;
e) when disclosure of material information
to patient will jeopardize the success of
treatment, in which case, third party
disclosure and consent shall be in order;
f) When the patient waives his right in writing.

Informed consent shall be obtained from a

patient concerned if he is of legal age and of
sound mind. In case the patient is incapable of
giving consent and a third party consent is
required. the following persons, in the
order of priority stated hereunder, may give
consent:

i. spouse;
ii. son or daughter of legal age;
iii. either parent;
iv. brother or sister of legal age, or
v. guardian

If a patient is a minor, consent shall be

ottained from his parents or legal guardian. If
next of kin, parents or legal guardians refuse
to give consent to a medical or surgical
proceoure necessary to save the life or limb
of a minor or a patient incapable of giving
consent, courts, upon the petition of the
physician or any person interested in the
welfare of the patient, in a summary
proceeding, may issue an order giving consent.

3. Right to Privacy and Confidentiality. - The

privacy of the patients must be assured at all
stages of his treatment. The patient has the
right to be free from unwarranted public
exposure, except in the foHowing cases: a)
when his mental or physical condition is in
controversy and the appropriate court, in its
discretion, order him to submit to a physical or
mental examination by a physician; b) when the
public health and safety so demand; and c)
when the patient waives this right in writing.

The patient has the right to demand that all

information, communication and records
pertaining to his care be treated as
confidential. Any health care provider or
practitioner involved in the treatment of a
patient and all those who have legitimate
access to the patient's record is not authorized
to divulge any information to a third party who
has no concern with the care and welfare
of the patient without his consent, except:
a) when such disclosure will benefit public
health and safety; b) when it is in the interest
of justice and upon the order of a competent
court; and c) when the patients waives in
writing the confidential nature of such
information; d) when it is needed for
continued medical treatment or
advancement of medical science subject to
de-identification of patient and shared medical
confidentiality for those who have access to
the information.

Informing the spouse or the family to the first

degree of the patient's medical condition may
be allowed; Provided That the patient of legal
age shall have the right to choose on whom to
inform. In case the patient is not of legal age or
is mentally incapacitated, such information
shall be given to the parents, legal guardian or
his next of kin.

4. Right to Information. - In the course of

his/her treatment and hospital care, the
patient or his/her legal guardian has a right to
be informed of the result of the evaluation of
the nature and extent of his/her disease, any
other additional or further contemplated
medical treatment on surgical procedure or
procedures, including any other additional
medicines to be administered and their generic
counterpart including the possible
complications and other pertinent facts,
statistics or studies, regarding his/her illness,
any change in the plan of care before the
change is made, the person's participation
in the plan of care and necessary changes
before its implementation, the extent to which
payment maybe expected from Philhealth or
any payor and any charges for which the
patient maybe liable, the disciplines of health
care practitioners who will fumish the care and
the frequency of services that are proposed to
be furnished.

The patient or his legal guardian has the right

to examine and be given an itemized bill of the
hospital and medical services rendered in the
facility or by his/her physician and other health
care providers, regardless of the manner and
source of payment.He is entitled to a thorough
explanation of such bill.

The patient or hislher legal guardian has the

right to be informed by the physician or
his/her delegate of hisJher continuing health
care requirements following discharge,
including instructions about home medications,
diet, physical activity and all other pertinent
information to promote health and well-being.

At the end of his/her confinement, the patient

is entitled to a brief, written summary of the
course of his/her illness which shall include
at least the history, physical examination,
diagnosis, medications, surgical procedure,
ancillary and laboratory procedures, and the
plan of further treatment, and which shall be
provided by the attending physician. He/she is
likewise entitled to the explanation of, and to
view, the contents of medical record of his/her
confinement but with the presence of his/her
attending physician or in the absence of
the attending physician, the hospital's
representative. Notwithstanding that he/she
may not be able to settle his accounts by
reason of financial incapacity, he/she is
entitled to reproduction, at his/her expense,
the pertinent part or parts of the medical
record the purpose or purposes of which
he shall indicate in his/her written request
for reproduction. The patient shall likewise
be entitled to medical certifICate, free of
charge, with respect to his/her previous
confinement.

5. The Right to Choose Health Care

Provider and Facility. - The patient is free to
choose the health care provider to serve him
as well as the facility except when he is under
the care of a service facility or when public
health and safety so demands or when the
patient expressly waives this right in writing.

The patient has the right to discuss his

condition with a consultant specialist, at the
patient's request and expense. He also has
the right to seek for a second opinion and
subsequent opinions, if appropriate, from
another health care provider/practitioner.

6. Right to Self-Determination. - The patient

has the right to avail himself/herself of any
recommended diagnostic and treatment
procedures.Any person of legal age and of
sound mind may make an advance written
directive for physicians to administer terminal
care when he/she suffers from the terminal
phase of a terminal illness: Provided That a) he
is informed of the medical consequences of his
choice; b) he releases those involved in his
care from any obligation relative to the
consequences of his decision; c) his decision
will not prejudice public health and safety.

7. Right to Religious Belief. - The patient has

the right to refuse medical treatment or
procedures which may be contrary to his
religious beliefs, subject to the limitations
described in the preceding subsection:
Provided, That such a right shall not be
imposed by parents upon their children who
have not reached the legal age in a life
threatening situation as determined by the
attending physician or the medical director of
the facility.

8. Right to Medical Records. - The patient is

entitled to a summary of his medical history
and condition.He has the right to view the
contents of his medical records, except
psychiatric notes and other incriminatory
information obtained about third parties, with
the attending physician explaining contents
thereof. At his expense and upon discharge of
the patient, he may obtain from the health care
institution a reproduction of the same record
whether or not he has fully settled his financial
obligation with the physician or institution
concerned.

The health care institution shall safeguard the

confidentiality of the medical records and to
likewise ensure the integrity and authenticity of
the medical records and shall keep the same
within a reasonable time as may be
determined by the Department of Health.

The health care institution shall issue a medical

certificate to the patient upon request.Any
other document that the patient may require for
insurance claims shall also be made available
to him within forty-fIVe (45) days from request.

9. Right to Leave. - The patient has the right

to leave hospital or any other health care
institution regardless of his physical condition:
Provided. That a) he/she is informed of the
medical consequences of his/her decisionl b)
helshe releases those involved in his/her care
from any obligation relative to the
consequences of his decision; c) hislher
decision will not prejudice public health and
safety.

No patient shaD be detained against hi$/her

will in any health care institution on the sole
basis of his failure to fully settle his
financial obligations. However, he/she shall
only be allowed to leave the hospital provided
appropriate arrangements have been made to
settle the unpaid bills: Provided. further, That
unpaid bills of patients shall be considered as
loss income by the hospital and health care
provider/practitioner and shall be deducted
from gross income as income loss only on that
particular year.

10. Right to Refuse Participation In Medical

Research. - The patient has the right to be
advised if the health care provider plans to
involve him in medical research, including but
not limited to human experimentation which
may be performed only with the written
informed consent of the patient: Provided,
That, an institutional review board or ethical
review board in accordance with the guidelines
set in the Declaration of Helsinki be established
for research involving human experimentation:
Provided, further, That the Department of
Health shall safeguard the continuing training
and education of fUture health care
provider/practitioner to ensure the
development of the health care delivery in the
country: Provided, fUfthermore, That the
patient involved in the human experimentation
shall be made aware of the provisions of the
Declaration of Helsinki and its respective
guidelines.

11. RIght to Correspondence and to Receive

Visitors. - The patient has the right to
communicate with relatives and other
persons and to receive visitors subject to
reasonable limits prescribed by the rules and
regulations of the health care institution.

12. Right to Express Grievances. - The

patient has the right to express complaints
and grievances about the care and services
received without fear of discrimination or
reprisal and to know about the disposition of
such complaints.Such a system shall afford all
parties concerned with the opportunity to settle
amicably all grievances.

13. RIght to be Informed of His Rights and

Obligations as a Patient. - Every person has
the right to be informed of his rights and
obligations as a patient.The Department of
Health,in coordination with heath care
providers, professional and civic groups, the
media, health insurance corporations, people's
organizations,local government organizations,
shall launch and sustain a nationwide
information and education campaign to
make known to people their rights as
patients, as declared in this Act Such rights
and obligations of patients shall be posted in
a bulletin board conspicuously placed in a
health care institution.

It shall be the duty of health care institutions to

inform of their rights as well as of the
institution's rules and regulations that apply to
the conduct of the patient while in the care of
such institution.

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