|
S.
Habibolah Kavari & Habinolla
Johari
|
|
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The
patient's rights refer to all points
and abilities or certain certificates
that law has given to patient. Perhaps
the most important challenge that
happens between patients and related
staff is due to lack of staff knowledge
concerning patient's rights. The object
of this study is to determine the
degree of awareness of those who are
in charge of taking care of patients
on patient's rights in Fasa hospitals
and medical centers. Instrument and
Procedures: In
this project the instrument for data
collection is a questionnaire consists
of two parts according to the patients'
rights charter. The participants in
this study were including %3/2 physician,
%47/6 nurse, %3/2 radiology staff
and %25/4 auxiliary nurse, %9/5 personnel,
%11/1 nursing student.
Findings: The
findings show that the most degree
of awareness related to patients'
rights that is equal to %91, was about
being aware of the treatment method.
All the staffs were totally aware
of the subject. The least degree of
awareness that is equal to %53 was
related to patient's rights in regard
to the awareness of their date of
discharge.
Conclusion: Making
the hospital staffs and hospital managers
familiar with patients' rights and
having organization foe supervision
on the quality of paying attention
to patient's rights in different hospitals
can be the best suggestion.
|
This study has been done to
investigate the degree of medical staff's
awareness of patients' rights. Patients'
rights refer to all points and abilities
or certain certificates that law has given
to patients.
Medical staff should gain,
learn and use the medical principle of morality
along with experimental, applied and theoretical
sciences and this is the medical university's
responsibilities to incorporate it in their
plans in such a way that the university
students learn them.(1)
Although it takes a long time
to understand that patients have rights
in their remedy and care needs, remedy and
treatment service systems in advanced countries,
take the lead in assigning the patients'
rights.(4)
Nowadays, it is necessary,
not only to pay more attention to patients'
rights but also to reinvestigate the social
aspect of patients rights that include the
preparation of necessary information and
the forming of suitable laws in the field
of making remedial services better and exploiting
the latest progress in remedial services.
With the passing of time patients
are starting to have more participation
in making medical decisions in regard to
their own problems.
The thing that needs to be
changed, here in Iran, is the resistance
of some doctors against the changes. Doctors
should make themselves ready to accept the
patients' opinions about their own problems.
Although it was a presumption in the past
that patients should not know more about
their own problems, we should try to put
it aside and change our mind. (5)
To some extent, we can say
that the most problematic matters that happened
between patients and medical staff is lack
of knowledge of medical staff about patients'
rights and also lack of knowledge of patients
about their own rights.
In this study we try to examine
the level of Fasa medical staff's awareness
of this matter and we will examine the level
of awareness of these staff who work in
Fasa training hospitals.
| PATIENTS'
RIGHTS AND LAWS |
These days the emphasis
on patients' rights in remedial health services
systems in most countries, brings about
change.
This matter has influenced
the collective laws of advanced societies
even in 20th century. (2)
In most countries the
civil courts play an important role in regard
to violation of patients' rights. Such courts
inspect the patients' complaints even when
there is no clear law in regard to support
of the patients' rights. Propounding patients'
rights in the legal
system of countries is an unavoidable matter.
1) Make the
patients' rights lawful:
Choosing a suitable
solution for making the patients' rights
lawful need some conditions such as political
and social conditions, legal regulation
and methods of lawmaking in countries. Introducing
patients' rights directly into country's
laws, has two benefits:
- Patients' advantage
- Supporting the relationship between
patient and personnel who work in health
care service systems.
2) Penal law
and patients' rights:
Discussions about
care and personal rights is a nonessential
matter unless the basic structure of justice
and fairness I in place.
Lack and shortage
of care may cause some such crimes and most
of the time it is due to neglect and carelessness
in patient matters. "Crime" in health care
is defined as swerving from those standard
directions that cause civil, penal and criminal
violations.
|
|
3) Civil law
and patients' rights:
In Iran according to article 5 of civil
law, if a disability or deficiency happens
to a person's health because of a phenomenon
or event and this matter causes the patient
some problems, the person who causes this
problem and this event is responsible for
compensation for the losses, injuries and
damages.
Article 4 of disciplinary
direction in regard to investigation of
professional and union violation in the
medical profession says that: those who
work in medical professions have a responsibility
to keep patients' confidentiality unless
in situations and matters that the law does
not protect such.
| INSTRUMENTS
AND PROCEDURES |
The main object of this research
is the assignation of effective factors
that have influence on the degree of awareness
of medical staff who work in Fasa medical
courts regarding patients' rights. Doctors
(3.2%) nurses (47.6%) auxiliary nurses (25.4%)
personnel (9.5%) radiology personnel (3.2%)
and nursery students (11.1%) are those who
play a role in this research.
| INSTRUMENT
FOR GATHERING INFORMATION |
The instrument that is used
in this research is a two part questionnaire
that is prepared based on the charter of
patients' rights. These two parts are as
follow: Part A: Demographic features Part
B: 20 questions that examine the effective
factors that have influence on the degree
of staffs' awareness. The credibility of
the questionnaire is guaranteed, and it
is analyzed by SPSS and Excel programs after
they have been gathered.
The following
results have been gained from this research:
- The
degree of awareness from the most to the
least is as follows: women personnel 74.6%,
married personnel 52.6%, educated personnel
53.2%, nurses and midwifes 24.6% and official
personnel 30.2% in health care staffs'
opinion, 81% of patients have the right
not to accept their doctor's method of
treatment.
- 91%
of personnel believe that the doctor
must explain the method of treatment
of the patient.
- research
shows that 70% of society believes that
the patient has the right to know about
their own rights when they enter a medical
center.
-
53% of research society believes that
the patient should know about the date
and time of their discharge.
- 86%
of researchers believe that patients
should be satisfied with health and
remedy services
- 78%
of staff believe that patients have
the right to know about the hospital
laws and regulations.
- Most
awareness of patients' rights is among
women personnel with the average of
47.6%
| DISCUSSION
AND CONCLUSION |
Hospitals and related organizations
exist because of human beings and their
health.
Human sources are the most
important source of funds in most management
books and we see that there is no improvement
in an organization unless physical resources
accompany financial resources.
The more staff's awareness
of patients' rights, the more patients are
satisfied and this leads to better and faster
health care services to patients.
Through recognition of the
factors that influence staffs' unawareness
of patients' rights and patient rights charters
and the omitting of them, the better the
health care services in our hospitals.
According to Mr. Nematollahi's
study entitled "comparing the law of patients'
rights in Iran with the charter of patients'
rights "and Shiraz medical university doctors'
poll, 67 General physicians and experts
completed the questionnaire and 64.2% of
doctors believe that patients can not choose
the method of treatment for themselves and
80% of them believe that patients have the
right to know that the hospital that they
enter is a training hospital.
The degree of understudy staffs'
awareness of patients' rights in regard
to knowing about the doctor's expertise
is 98.9%, knowing about the doctor's name
is 97.9%, knowing the name of care personnel
is 69.6% and knowing about their expertise
is 72%.
Comparing
this research shows that the degree of awareness
in this field has been increased. The following
suggestion is given by the researcher:
- Make
the care personnel more familiar with
the articles in the patients' rights charter.
- Make
managers more aware about patients' rights
in order to control the hospital personnel's'
work.
- Make
the patient and their family more familiar
with patients' rights in order to have
them request these rights from the hospital
care personnel.
- Establish
an institute or an organization in order
to control the hospital's work.
|
| 1. |
Hosseini, Mir Mohammad, history of
changes and nurses ethics. Published
by Nashr and Tabligh Bashari center.
Tehran, 1376.
|
| 2. |
J.Y. Akin Sola, nurses
ethics, translated by Dr. Mahin Ghahraman.
Published by Tehran Azad University
, 1370 |
| 3. |
Esfahani, Mohammad Mahdi,
Professional ethics in health care services,
Published by Iran Medical University
of Sciences. Tehran, 1372. |
|
|
| 4. |
Atashkhane, Maryam, Patients'
rights. Published by Shiraz Social Guaranteed
Organization. 1380 |
| 5. |
Janin Fista, nurses' rights
and responsibilities. Translated by
Mahmoud Abbasi. Published by Tabib.
Tehran 1377. |
| 6. |
Nematollahi, Mohtaram.
Ethics, Comparing the Law of patient's
rights in Iran with the charter of patients'
rights and getting the Shiraz University
of Medical sciences ' doctors ' opinion.
Shiraz 1377. |
|
