Patient rights in Rajasthan’s new law are key to fundamental right to health care
E. Premdas Pinto
Opinion: Patient rights in Rajasthan’s new law are key to the fundamental right to health care
https://citizenmatters.in/rajasthan-right-to-health-care-act-patients-doctors-33367
RAJASTHAN RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE ACT: THE BROADER IMPLICATION
The RRTH Act fulfils the historical
void that existed in safeguarding patient rights in India, writes the
author. Representational image. Pic courtesy: ILO Asia Pacific via
Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Rajasthan Right to Health Care Act (the RRTH Act) passed by the legislative assembly of the state of Rajasthan on March 21st this year, draws our attention to the quintessential issue of patients’ rights in healthcare. In the doctor-centric health care system in India, patient rights seldom feature in public debate, are rarely considered integral to realising our citizenship, and are not legally defined. Yet, patient rights form a very significant component of citizens’ fundamental right to health care.
The Right to Health Care Act is framed with the objective of ensuring health for all, and also conversely, that healthcare is never denied to any citizen. It proposes to legally define collective and individual rights in health care, constitute state and district authorities, and institute grievance redressal and social accountability mechanisms.
In a calibrated move, the Act also details the rights of doctors and health care providers, while laying down the duties, both of doctors as well as of the government.
Key provisions of the RRTH Act
- Collective and individual rights and duties of residents (citizen is indicated as resident referring to whoever resides in the state of Rajasthan), and rights and duties of health care providers (Ch.II)
- The obligation of the government (e.g. to provide adequate financial resources, Ch.III)
- Constitution of health authorities at the state and district level, and their duties and powers
- Grievance redressal and social accountability mechanisms (Ch.VI)
- Penalties and procedures – punishments and appeals (Ch.VI)