The right to have access to health care means that every patient has the right to equal access to continuous medical treatment that is appropriate for their condition. The right to access to health care also means that every patient has the right to life-saving interventions, or medical services targeting to prevent the development of permanent health damage and pain management procedures in order to alleviating the patient’s pain and suffering.
The right to access to health care is proper, if the applying professional and ethical rules and directives are complied. Medical service needs to be continuously available, and it has to be provided at the appropriate level of the health care system that the patient’s condition requires (e.g. in the form of in- our outpatient services).
Patients also have the right to be informed if a certain medical service provider cannot provide them the appropriate level of care within the earliest time required by their condition, and also need to be informed about which medical service provider can ensure them the necessary service.
Further rights within the rights to have access to health care:
Right to choose the health care provider: patients have the right to choose their medical service provider facility appropriate for their health condition – if no exceptions are applied by law, and the chosen health care provider / physician gives consent, if their health condition, an emergency or their health insurance related legal relationship do not indicate otherwise. Choosing the health care provider physician, however, must comply with the regulations of the medical service provider. By choosing the health care provider physician, the patient has the right to choose whom they can communicate with, complying with the type of the medical service and complying with the patient’s condition.
Requesting a secondary medical opinion: beside the abovementioned rights, patients have the right to request for a secondary medical opinion with every diagnosis established or every treatment suggested, or with every referral issued by a physician or a hospital discharge initiated by a health care provider.
