Kunjees^® News

Draft charter of Patients’ Rights released by Health Ministry

The Ministry plans to implement the Charter of Patients’ Rights through State governments for provision of, among others, the freedom for patients to choose medicines or diagnostic tests from sources other than those recommended by their doctors or hospitals. The draft charter, prepared by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has been put up on the Health Ministry’s website on August 30 for comments and suggestions up to 30 days. The draft charter that includes 17 rights with description, draws upon all relevant provisions, inspired by international charters and guided by national level provisions, with the objective of consolidating these into a single document. The charter has outlined various rights that patients are entitled to under existing legal provisions and proposed a three-tier mechanism to address patients' grievances.

The charter has recommended that grievances should be addressed by internal grievance redress units in clinical establishments, then district-level authorities and then state councils for clinical establishments. The document outlines patients' rights to information about their illness, proposed diagnostic tests, possible complications as well as likely additional costs due to changes in the course of the illness. Patients also have the right to emergency medical care irrespective of their paying capacity.

Read More: The Hindu, The Telegraph (India)