Charter of Patients’ Rights in Iran; History, Contents and Implementation

The impetus for the Charter of Patients’ Rights began with the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in ۱۹۴۷, in which people called for equal rights for access to health and social services. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in ۱۹۴۸ recognized the "inherent dignity" and the "equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family". Accordingly, rules and regulations were developed under the title of the Charter of Patients’ Rights to defend the rights of patients and provide the necessary conditions for human dignity, and ensure indiscrimination in adequate patient care. In Iran, the Charter of Patients’ Rights was drafted in ۲۰۰۲ and sent to affiliated centers by the Ministry of Health and Education. It consists of ۵ general axes and ۳۷ clauses. The five axes of the charter are the right to receive desirable services, the right to receive information desirably and sufficiently, the patient’s right to choose and decide on receiving health services freely, the right to respect patient privacy and the principle of confidentiality, and finally, the right to access the system. The development and promulgation of the Charter of Patients’ Rights is a valuable step toward fulfilling the rights of patients. Its provisions can be met with the necessary arrangements for proper culture, comprehensive attention to the rights of all stakeholders, identification of barriers, providing strategies for the implementation of the charter, and the observance of patients’ rights as an indicator in the evaluation of health service centers.