Insight and Value
Everyone in the community is committed to maintaining and respecting the dignity of humans. This is very important in medical conditions. Attention to the dignity of human beings is one of the basic principles of the Islamic Republic Constitution, and the government is obliged to provide healthcare services for any individual in the country. Accordingly, the procurement of health services should be fair and based on respect to the rights and human dignity of patients. The present charter is developed according to the high values of humanity based on Islamic and Iranian culture and the equality of inherent dignity of all healthcare recipients in order to to maintain, enhance, and consolidate the human relationships between providers and recipients of health services.
1. Optimal reception of health services is the patient right and provision of health services should be:
1.1 Worthy for human dignity and respect the values and cultural and religious beliefs.
1.2 Based on honesty, fairness, politeness, and kindness.
1.3 Beyond any discrimination, including ethnic, cultural, religious, disease type, and gender.
1.4 Based on the update knowledge.
1.5 Based on the superiority of patient interests.
1.6 Based on the fair distribution of health resources and patient care priorities.
1.7 Based on the coordination of care pillars, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.
1.8 Along with the provision of all essential welfare facilities, without tolerance of unnecessary pain and suffering, and unnecessary limitations.
1.9 With particular attention to the rights of vulnerable groups of society, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, mental patients, prisoners, mentally and physically disabled individuals, and unsupervised people.
1.10 Done in the earliest possible time with respect to the patient time.
1.11 According to variables such as language, age, and gender of the service recipients.
1.12 Performed regardless of the costs in emergencies, and defined according to regulations in elective cases.
1.13 In emergencies, if the procurement of appropriate services is impossible, patients should be transferred to an equipped unit after essential services and necessary explanations have been ensured.
1.14 The patient comfort should be maintained in the final stages of life, when the condition is irreversible and the death is imminent. Comfort here refers to the reduction of the patient’s pain and suffering, attention to the psychological, social, spiritual, and emotional needs of patients and their relatives at the death time. In the last moments of life, patients have the right to accompany the person who they want.
2. The information should be provided for the patient in an appropriate and sufficient manner:
2.1 The information should include:
2.1.1 Contents of the patient rights charter at the time of admission.
2.1.2 Predictive criteria and costs of the hospital, including medical and non-medical services, insurance policies, and introduction of supportive systems at the time of admission.
2.1.3 Name, responsibility, and professional rank of the medical group members responsible for providing care, including physicians, nurses, and students, and their professional relationship.
2.1.4 Diagnostic and therapeutic methods as well as their strengths and weaknesses and their possible complications in addition to diagnosis, prognosis, and complications of diseases and all information affecting the decision-making of the patient.
2.1.5 How to access the physician and the main members of the medical team during treatment.
2.1.6 All measures of a research nature.
2.1.7 Providing essential training for the continuation of treatment.
2.2 Provision of information should be as follows:
2.2.1 Information should be provided at an appropriate time and in accordance with patient’s conditions, including anxiety, pain, and personal characteristics, such as language, education, and ability to understand.
2.2.2 Delay in the initiation of treatment due to presentation of the information may harm the patient (therefore, information should be provided after taking the necessary measures.)
2.2.3 Regardless of the right to receive information, patients may be reluctant in this regard. In this case the patient’s will should be respected, unless unawareness of patients endangers them or others.
2.2.4 The patient can access all of the information contained in his clinical file and receive its image and request corrections to the personal information.
3. Patients have the right to freely choose and decide on their healthcare services:
3.1 The range of choice and decision is as follows:
3.1.1 Choosing the treating physician and healthcare center in the framework of regulations.
3.1.2 Choosing and consultation of the second physician as the counselor.
3.1.3 Participation in any research, assuring that their decision will not affect the continuity and mode of receiving health services.
3.1.4 Acceptance or rejection of the proposed treatments after being informed of possible complications due to their acceptance or rejection, except in cases of suicide or when the refusal to treat may seriously endanger other persons.
3.1.5 The prior opinion of patients about future therapeutic measures, when they are able to make a decision, is recorded and is considered as a guide for medical measures, when patients are unable to make a decision, by the healthcare providers and the patient’s relatives who make a decision, observing the legal requirements.
3.2 The selection and decision-making conditions include:
3.2.1 Patients are free and informed in choosing and decision-making based on adequate and comprehensive understanding (referred to in Clause 2).
3.2.2 After the information is provided, enough time should be given to the patients for decision-making and selection.
4. Provision of health services should be based on respect for the patient’s privacy (privacy right) and observance of confidentiality:
4.1 Confidentiality is necessary for all patient information unless otherwise provided by law.
4.2 Patient’s privacy should be respected in all stages of care, both diagnosis and treatment. In this regard, all necessary facilities should be provided for guarantee the patient’s privacy.
4.3 Patients have the right to have a trusted companion at diagnostic stages, including physical examinations. Children have the right to be accompanied by their parents at all stages of the treatment, unless this is in contrast to medical necessities.
5. Access to an effective system for dealing with patient complaints:
5.1 If patients claim that their rights, subject to this charter, have been violated, they have the right to complain to the competent authorities without disturbing the quality of health services.
5.2 Patients have the right to know how to handle their complaints.
5.3 Damages caused by the failure of the health service provider must be remedied in the shortest possible time, after review and proof according to regulations.
* Regarding the implementation of the provisions of this charter, if patients lack decision-making capacity for any reason, their legal decision-makers will be responsible to perform all rights of the patients mentioned in this charter. However, if the alternate decision-maker, in contrast to the physician’s opinion, prevents patient treatment, the physician can apply for a review in decision through the relevant authorities.
* If a patient has no sufficient capacity for decision-making but can decide on a part of the treatment process, the decision should be respected.
Religious Issues
After the admission of patients to a department, in addition to examining the clinical status, the religious and worship needs of patients and their companions are asked so that the places intended for their prayer can be provided with the advice of religious experts.
The Qibla direction is specified on the wall of all wards of the hospital. In addition, the computer telephony integration can answer the religious questions of different religions by dialing 096400. Ask the shift nurse for an in person meeting with a cleric.
The direct phone number of the Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi office: +98 21 3302 6066-9
The direct phone number of the Ayatollah Noori Hamedani office: +98 21 3313 7194
The direct phone number of the Ayatollah Sistani office: +98 21 3344 0925