The Charter of Patients’ Rights in Iran has five pillars.
This charter has been prepared with respect to the high human values and based on Islamic and Iranian culture, and on the basis of equality and the inherent dignity of all recipients of health services, and with the aim of preserving, promoting and strengthening human relations between providers and recipients of health services.
The first pillar: Receiving the desired health services is the patient’s right.
The provision of health services must be in such a way that:
1- It is worthy of human dignity and respect for cultural and religious values, beliefs.
2- It is based on honesty, fairness, courtesy and kindness.
3- It is free from any discrimination, including ethnic, cultural, religious, type of disease and gender.
4- It is based on current knowledge.
5- It is based on the superiority of the patient’s interests.
6- The distribution of health resources is based on justice and the treatment priorities of patients.
7- It is based on the coordination of the pillars of care, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
8- Along with providing all basic and necessary welfare facilities and away from imposing unnecessary pain, suffering and restrictions.
9- Pay special attention to the rights of vulnerable groups in society, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, mentally ill, prisoners, the mentally and physically disabled, and people without guardians.
10- Be as quickly as possible and with respect for the patient’s time.
11- Be by taking into account variables such as language, age, and gender of the service recipients.
Second axis: Information must be provided to the patient in a desirable and sufficient manner.
The content of the information should include the following:
1- The provisions of the patient’s rights charter at the time of admission
2- The hospital’s foreseeable terms and costs, including medical and non-medical services, insurance terms and conditions, and an introduction to support systems at the time of admission
3- The names, responsibilities, and professional ranks of the members of the medical team responsible for providing care, including doctors, nurses, and students, and their professional relationships with each other
4- Diagnostic and therapeutic methods, the strengths and weaknesses of each method, and its possible complications, diagnosis, prognosis, and complications, as well as all information that affects the patient’s decision-making process
5- How to access the treating physician and key members of the medical team during treatment
6- All measures that are of a research nature.
7- Providing necessary training for the continuation of treatment
The method of providing information should be as follows:
– Information should be provided to the patient at an appropriate time and in accordance with the patient’s conditions, including anxiety, pain, and individual characteristics of the patient, including language, education, and ability to understand, unless:
– Delaying the start of treatment due to the provision of the above information would cause harm to the patient. (In this case, the transfer of information after taking the necessary action should be done at the first appropriate time.)
– The patient refuses to receive information despite being aware of the right to do so, in which case the patient’s wish should be respected, unless the patient’s lack of information puts him or others at serious risk.
– The patient can access and receive all images and information recorded in his clinical file and request correction of errors in it.
Third axis: The patient’s right to freely choose and decide to receive health services must be respected.
The scope of choice and decision-making is about the following:
1- Choosing a treating physician and a health service provider within the framework of the criteria
2- Choosing and seeking the opinion of a second physician as a consultant
3- Participating or not participating in biological research with assurance that his decision-making does not affect the continuity and manner of receiving health services.
4- Accept or reject proposed treatments after being aware of the possible complications resulting from accepting or rejecting them, except in cases of suicide or in cases where refusing treatment would put another person at serious risk.
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 be used as a guide for medical measures when the patient lacks the capacity to make decisions, in accordance with the legal standards considered by the health service providers and the decision-maker.
The conditions for choice and decision-making include the following:
1- The patient’s choice and decision-making should be free and informed, based on receiving sufficient and comprehensive information (mentioned in the second paragraph).
2- After providing information, the patient should be given sufficient and sufficient time to make a decision and choose.
Fourth axis: The provision of health services should be based on respect for the patient’s privacy and adherence to the principle of confidentiality.
1- Compliance with the principle of confidentiality regarding all information related to the patient is mandatory, except in cases where the law has made an exception.
2- The patient’s privacy must be respected at all stages of care, including diagnosis and treatment. It is essential to provide all necessary facilities to ensure patient privacy.
3- Only the patient, the treatment team, and individuals authorized by the patient and individuals deemed authorized by law may access the patient’s information.
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.
Fifth axis: Access to an efficient complaints handling system is the patient’s right.
1- Every patient has the right to complain to the competent authorities in the event of a claim that their rights, which are the subject of this charter, are violated, without disrupting the quality of health services received.
2- Patients have the right to be informed of the procedure for handling and the results of their complaint.
3- Damages resulting from the errors of health service providers must be compensated in the shortest possible time after investigation and proof, in accordance with the regulations.
