PATIENT BILL OF

RIGHTS
GROUP MEMBERS
SHAISTA ISLAM
HINA GUL
 OBJECTIVES

Define right & bill of rights.

List the types of rights.
Explain patient’s bill of rights
Describe the role of nurse in relation to bill of right.
 BILL OF RIGHTS

Right:
Is that which one has a legal or social claim to do.
Or
“A thing one may morally or legally claim”
Bill of rights:
A paper containing a declaration of rights.
 PATIENT BILL OF RIGHTS

Patient right contain legal and ethical issues in provider patient relationship including a
person right to privacy , the right to quality medical care ,right to make informed
decisions about care and treatment options and the right to refuse treatment .
The American hospital association first adopted the patient bill of rights in 1973 to insure
that hospital were sensitive to the needs of patients in the areas of
race ,religion ,age ,ethical background , linguistic and gender as well as the needs of
person with disabilities .
 TYPES OF RIGHTS

Types of rights are basically two:

The right to life is the fundamental right, of which all other rights are
corollaries (consequences, results, effects etc.)
The right to life states that you own your own body. No one has the
right to injure or take your life.
1- legal rights
 2- moral right
 LEGAL RIGHTS:

Right to life:
Right to happiness:
 The right to the pursuit of happiness is freedom of action. It means that a man is free to do
any thing he pleases, as long as it doesn’t conflict with the rights of others.
Right to speech: freedom of speech is required for liberty because without the freedom of
speech, you cannot persuade others of what is right and what is wrong.
Right to self defense: the right to defend yourself is important to life. You must be able to
protect what is yours when it is threatened.
 LEGAL RIGHTS
Right to liberty:
The right to liberty is a part of the right to life, specifically referring to your
freedom of action. You may do what you want, when you want, provided
you don’t trample (crush, squash) on the rights of anyone else.
Right to property: property rights are an extension to the right to life. In
order to support yourself and stay alive, you must be able to own and use
the product of your labor.
 MORAL RIGHTS

Moral rights are rights which are not dependent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of a
particular society.
 Moral rights or human rights are based on moral norms and principles that specify that all
human beings are permitted To do something or are entitled to have something done for them.
Moral rights enable individuals to choose freely whether to pursue certain activities or certain
interests.
 The duty not to interfere with a person's activities in a certain area. The right to privacy, for
example, imposes on us the duty not to intrude (interrupt) into the private activities of a
person.
 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE RIGHTS

• 1. Positive right is when you have a right to something that means you can force
someone else to provide you with it.
• Positive rights are also called legal rights.

• 2. A negative right is when you have a right to something, but you have to
gain/maintain it yourself (e.g. high GPA).
• Negative rights are also called moral rights.
 WHAT DO RIGHTS GIVE YOU

Rights do not provide for any thing but freedom of action. There is no
right to food, for example; only the right to work and keep the income with
which you may buy food.
 PATIENT’S BILL OF RIGHTS

American hospital association has affirmed a “patients’ bill of rights”

Purpose:
It sets out the roles, rights and responsibilities of patients, health care
providers and governments.
All personnel must respect and honor these rights.
 PATIENT’S BILL OF RIGHTS

• Right to information: every patient has the right to know what is the illness
that they are suffering, its causes, the status of the diagnosis (provisional or
confirmed), expected costs of treatment. Furthermore, service providers should
communicate this in a manner that is understandable for the patient.
• Right to records and reports: the patient has the right to access his/her
medical records and investigation reports. Service providers should make these
available upon the patients' payment of any photocopy fees as applicable .
 PATIENT’S BILL OF RIGHTS

Right to emergency care: public and private hospitals have an obligation to provide
emergency medical care regardless of the patients' capacity to pay for the services.

Right to informed consent: patients have the right to be asked for their informed consent
before submitting to potentially hazardous treatment. Physicians should clearly explain the risks
from receiving the treatment and only administer the treatment after getting explicit written consent
from the patient.

Right to confidentiality, human dignity and privacy: doctors should observe strict
confidentiality of a patient's condition, with the only exception of potential threats to public health .
 CONTI……………

Right to choose source for obtaining medicines or tests: any registered pharmacy
and laboratory is eligible to provide patients with goods and services they require.
Right to proper referral and transfer, which is free from perverse commercial
influences: in case of transfers or referrals, the patient has the right to an explanation
that justifies the transfer, as well as confirmation from the hospital receiving the patient
about their acceptance of the transfer.

Right to protection for patients involved in clinical trials: clinical trials

should comply with all the standards and protocols under the directorate general of
health services
 CONT………

Right to non-discrimination:
service providers cannot deny treatment on the basis of gender, caste, religion, age, sexual
orientation or social origins.

Right to safety and quality care according to standards:

 hospitals must ensure a hygienic and sanitized environment to provide their services.
Right to choose alternative treatment options if available:
patients have the right to consider treatment alternatives and even refuse treatment.
 CONTI…………..

Right to protection of participants involved in biomedical and health

research: studies involving patients should follow the national ethical
guidelines for biomedical and health research .
Right to take discharge of patient, or receive body of deceased from
hospital: patients have the right to be discharged and may not be
detained at a health service provider facility because of procedural
reasons such as payment disputes.
Right to patient education: in addition to information about their
condition, patients have the right to know about public health services .
 PATIENT’S RESPONSIBILITIES

To respect hospital personnel .

To follow your caregivers’ instructions .
To respect care givers’ effort to provide care for other patients .
To respect hospital property .
To be considerate of other patients and to see that your visitors do the same .
To provide the hospital with accurate and complete information about your medical history .
To abide by the policies of the organization .
ROLE OF A NURSE IN PATIENTS’ BILL OF
RIGHTS
Nurse protects the clients human and legal rights .
Providing information to assist in decision making .
Explains concepts and facts about health, demonstrates procedures .
 To communicate with client, family and healthcare team members.
 Nurse is committed to improving the quality of patient care. 
To witness informed consent.
Nurse needs to follow patients’ bill of rights .
 CONCLUSION

From the earliest days of nursing, nurses have been entrusted with the care and
safeguarding of the patient. This includes not only the physical being of the patient, but
the mental and social as well.
 By being aware of and upholding the rights of the patient, nurses are adhering to
standards of practice and ethical principles.
It is important for the nurse to be aware of patient rights not only to be able to empower
the patient, but to also strengthen and self regulate their own practice to adhere to the
standards and protocols of the profession.