For establish what rights we have as patients, first we need to know what legal bases protect the human been wellness, our political constitution safeguard that every person have rights to health protection. But here we need to ask; who gives it? In this case the General Health Law establishes that may be granted by the Health Services Providers, of public, social and private sectors. That mean, both government institutions, private and civil partnerships may contribute to our population family wellness.
When the law establish that health must be granted to every person, it's at same time expressing that don't must to exist any kind of discrimination, later then this is our first right as patients, but, here fits a question: What rights we have at moment we entered to an hospital or clinic of public or private sector?, to answer this at first is necessary comment that public and private service are not regulated as same, cause private services are guided by internal standards and in some international cases with respect to quality and attention kind that the patient required. While public health service obeys national or state as campaign looking for give the must and best community protection, both of them are valid and they aren't in dispute neither are distant, in the end the both sectors objective are human life quality prolongation and maintenance. Those medical attention systems obey also General Health Law and official standards which are down monitoring and control of Health Department at federal level and departments that depends of its in all national territory.
Once we have a clear description of who are our authorities and their laws, the objective of public, private and social sectors that works for gives health services, we can to establish by easiest way the rest of rights that a patient have.
Any patient without discrimination of any kind has rights to:
· Receive appropriate and quality health services.
· Request attention at medical institution that patient considers the best one.
· Request for voluntary discharge when patient considers right.
· Receive professional attention and ethically responsible, as a respectful and worthy service from professional, technical and auxiliary people.
· Receive clear, timely and enough info about conditions and effects of patient's illness and treatment kind which the patient could choose by the illness that it’s suffering.
· Gives its written consent for application or not of treatment, medicine and palliative cares appropriate to their disease, needs and life quality.
· Be treated with privacy that its health required.
· In emergency cases to have medical assistance.
· To have a medical expedient that has your medical history and records.
In this same case also is right to do mention which general terms are the main obligations which the medical providers must to comply:
· Have a working license, this document must be in view of patients and in this establish features and service kind their are destinated and, in case of particular establishment, would point also sanitarian responsible.
· The stablishment working and operaring must comply with the General Health Law and Mexican Official Standards (by the acronym in spanish NOM) that correspond.
· Have an user's attention department in case of complaints.
· The staff that are given its services in the establishment have warrant, certificate, studies and updated and valid training, that allow provides ideal medical attention to patient.
· In case of the suffering exceeds technical capacity, professional of the establishment do patient's transfer to an appropriate medical facilitation.
Once we have knowledge which are our rigths and obligations that must to comply an medical establishment, in case we see there are not respecting our rigths or the establishment don't comply the requirements; With who I could go to ask for help? At respect our government have established diferent departments that together or separately thet can give us adequate advice and resolution:
· Sanitarian Authorities through of Sanitarian Jurisdiction which its appropriate in my location, those departments depend of Federal Commission against Sanitarian Risks (by the acronym in spanish COFEPRIS).
· Public Ministry when you have been object or witness of a crime.
· Federal Consumer Attorney when the granted service by the staff aren't the agreed with the consumer (by the acronym in spanish PROFECO).
· Statal and National Commission of Medical Arbitration in case of discrepancy of received medical services.
In general terms we have seen which are the rights, the authorities, establishments and instances which a patient can find in our conuntry. Is our responsibility as patient resquest its compliance, point and give information to our authoritiescuando when theren't respecting these provisions in health terms, cause at the end the must important that we are looking for is our wellness and primarily the life is the must fundamental rigth that a human been have, and can't be object of discrimination or incompetences.
