Patients' Medical Rights

Everyone's life will inevitably encounter more or less, varying degrees of pain. With the development of technology and improvement of living standards, people increasingly concern their health and seeking behavior. In the treatment process, there formed the rights and obligations between doctors and patients. In modern society, with the growing awareness of patients' independent decision, medical model has changed from biomedical model witch traditionally determined by physician to biology, psychology and society medical model witch is participated by patients and doctors. Patients don't want to passively receiving treatment, but more and more ask to participate in the medical process. Along with this, patients' medical rights have increasingly developed, and the ignored rights of the past have been valued. Basically, both doctors and patients content the same target in the treatment of disease process, namely, the medical side uses professional knowledge and skills to cure the disease. However, due to the high-risk of health behavior, their own quality of medical staffs and patients lacking medical knowledge, there have been violation in patients' medical rights, tension between doctors and patients, medical disputes generated. The relationship of unity and opposition between doctors and patients make the protection of patients' rights become a whole society concerning question.This thesis started from current social reality and the study of physician-patient relationship, discussed the nature and characteristics of physician-patient relationship, analyzed the historical development of the protection of patients' rights, specifically discussed several medical rights that are easily violated. It also discussed the elements of the responsibility of medical damage, analyzed the success and shortcoming of "Tort Liability Law". The thesis divided three parts including introduction, body and conclusion.In the introduction, the author introduced the historical development of patients' rights, the study and legislation achievements of the protection of patients' rights in domestic and foreign countries, explained the theoretical and practical significance. The body divided into four chapters. In chapter one, the author analyzed the legal definition of physician-patient relationship, that is both conflict and co-ordination social relationship which arising from medical treatment and care process between the party dominated by medical institutions and the party dominated by patient groups. The author also described the different arguments of the attributes of doctor-patient relationship, including administrative relations, said that independent status, consumer relations, said that medical care contracts, etc. In respond these arguments, the author put forward his views on the doctor-patient relationship:noted that doctor-patient relationship is a special civil legal relationship. It not only has the general characteristics:equality, voluntary participation, equal value; but also has it's special characteristics determined by medical profession itself, such as the asymmetry of enjoying medical information between doctors and patients, the complexity and uncertainty of medical service, and the compulsory of medical measures in some cases.In chapter two, the author described the historical background of the development of patients' rights, generally introduced the research results of patients' rights at home and aboard. Also the author analyzed several vulnerable rights, including:1, The right to medical care. It means citizens have the right to receive medical care when they are attacked by disease or other necessary. This is the basis of other patients' rights, and is ruled in Constitution and other regulations. The system of medical care right including: the right to enjoy a rational allocation of health resource; the right to receive reasonable diagnosis and treatment; the right to receive thoughtful, detailed health care service.2, Medical autonomy. It means the patient, who has the ability to make decisions and is in the doctor-patient relationship, after communication and a self-independent thinking, make rational decisions about his disease and health, and take responsible actions in accordance with decisions. Medical autonomy is the principle of voluntary and equality of Civil Law which is embodied in medical activities. It includes:the right to choose medical institutions and doctors; the right to choose treatment programs; the right to refuse treatment; the right in the moment of loosing ability of decision.3, Informed Consent. It refers the patient, who has the decisive ability, understands all the information related to his illness in medical process and says whether he favor the medical practice. Written informed consent can be trace back to the 18th century. The formal proposal was after World WarⅡ. The Nuremberg trials have revealed a large number of facts about Nazi Germany that they forced subjects to accept the inhuman human tests in concentration camps. After trial, Nuremberg Code provided the "Informed Consent" of subjects, followed by the gradual application of this right in the field of physician-patient relationship. Informed Consent includes two sides:informed and consent. Consent is the intension based on inform. Patients receiving medical care measures are the actions of their personal rights. Except in special cases, no person shall in any way against the free will to make the best choice. Patients must adhere two principles:one is that the patients must have the ability to make choices, the other is that the decision must be independent and voluntary.4, The right of privacy. This refers that in the treatment process, others could not aware the patients' privacy information and interfere the patients' personal sector. The right of privacy includes:one, the treatment process against the privacy of patients; two, infringement of patients' privacy after treatment; three, against patients' privacy in clinical teaching and medical research. Meanwhile, the thesis discussed the conflict and coordination among patients privacy, the public right to know the social and the right to know of the medical side; the forms of domestic and international legislation to protect patient privacy, including: direct protection, indirect protection methods and general protection.In chapter three, the author discussed the protection of patients'rights. Patients receive treatment in medical institutions, aims to cure or mitigate disease and restore health. But in the course of treatment, there always are conflicts between medical institutions and patients. How to balance the interests of both doctors and patients? Which extent should the patients' rights be protected? This is a hot problem which current people focus on highly. Also this is a problem which academic and medical sector are exploring. The author has discussed in detail about the protection of four patients' rights which are vulnerable to be abused, including:the right to medical care, Medical autonomy, Informed Consent, privacy, put forward some proposals of protection measures of the four rights. Meanwhile, the author analyzed the elements of medical malpractice liability, including five: body, medical practice, the effect of damage, causal relationship between medical malpractice and damage, fault. Medical malpractice damage does not necessarily lead to the occurrence of compensation. It set up medical malpractice liability only with the other constituent elements at the same time.In chapter four, the author analyzed the status of domestic legislation. In the reason of China's economy, cultural, health care and others, legislation in the protection of patients' rights has developed more backward. Before "Tort Law", there were no specific legal provisions adjust the physician-patient relationship, but scattered in other laws and regulations. In practice, legal provisions to handle disputes in different places are not consistent, so that the same rights are different levels of protection, not conductive to the protection of the rights of patients. The practice of "Tort Law" has ended this legislative and judicial chaos, successfully reformed the medical malpractice liability system, established a unified system of medical malpractice relief, and correctly handled the balance of injured patients, medical institutions and all patients' interests. However, "Tort Law" also has some inconsistency, such as in the burden of proof, it uses the principle of "who advocates, who has the burden of proof", undermined the patients' interests to some extent; in "damage liability of medical products", medical institutions bear not really joint liability, so it has adverse effects to medical institutions and patients. In respond to these shortcomings, the author proposed some improvement programs, including:appropriate limits of liability, ease the burden of proof in causal relationship, the formulation of scientific identification system of medical malpractice liability.In conclusion, the author summarized the arguments of this article. The research of protection of patients' rights has far-researching theoretical and practical significance in advancing reform of current health system, building a harmonious relationship between doctors and patients, protecting both doctors and patients'interests, and maintaining social harmony and stability. Today; when all the citizens are looking forward to really improve the situation of medical care, it is very urgent to consider medical service and medical tort liability from the perspective of the basic rights. The author combines medical and legal knowledge to discuss citizens' medical rights, in order to rise the concerning about the patients' rights in theory and practice community, promote harmonious and stable doctor-patient relationship, and make the modest to the development of medical law.