Principles of health service delivery
Health services should be provided with full respect for human dignity and with due regard to the cultural and religious values, beliefs and convictions of individuals.
These services should be based on honesty, fairness, courtesy and kindness and empathy.
Services should be provided without any discrimination, including ethnic, cultural, religious, type of disease or gender discrimination.
Health services should be based on the latest scientific knowledge and findings.
The interests of the patient should be prioritized and decisions should be made based on maintaining and promoting his or her health.
The distribution of health resources should be fair and based on the treatment priorities of patients.
Full coordination between the various pillars of care, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, should be established.
Basic and essential welfare facilities should be provided and unnecessary pain, suffering and restrictions should be avoided in the provision of services.
Special attention should be paid to the rights of vulnerable groups in society, such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, mentally ill, prisoners, the mentally and physically disabled and people without guardians.
Services should be provided as quickly as possible and with full respect for patients’ time.
Individual differences such as language, age and gender should be taken into account in the provision of services.
Emergency care should be provided regardless of costs and in non-urgent (elective) cases, based on specific criteria.
In cases where it is not possible to provide appropriate emergency services, after taking the necessary measures and explanations, the patient should be transferred to a well-equipped facility.
In the final stages of life, when the disease is irreversible and the patient’s death is imminent, health services should be provided with the aim of maintaining the spiritual and emotional comfort of the patient and his family. The patient has the right to be accompanied by the person of his choice at these moments.
Provision of and access to information
Information should be provided in a form that is appropriate, sufficient and proportionate to the patient’s circumstances, including anxiety, pain, language, education and ability to understand, except in cases where delay in providing information would harm treatment. In such cases, information should be provided at the earliest appropriate opportunity.
If the patient refuses to receive information, this decision must be respected, unless the lack of information would put him or others at serious risk.
The patient has the right to access all information recorded in his or her medical record, receive a copy of it, and request correction if there is an error.
The patient’s right to choose and make decisions
The patient’s right to freely choose and make informed decisions about receiving health services must be respected.
This right includes choosing a treating physician and treatment center within the framework of the criteria, seeking the opinion of a second physician as a consultant, participating or not participating in research without affecting the treatment process, and accepting or refusing treatment after being informed of possible complications, except in cases where refusing treatment would put the patient or others at serious risk.
The patient’s prior opinion about future treatment measures, when he or she is capable of making decisions, must be recorded and taken into account as a guide to medical measures in the absence of decision-making capacity.
Decision-making conditions
The patient’s decision-making must be made freely, consciously, and based on receiving comprehensive and sufficient information.
After receiving the information, the patient should be given sufficient time to make a decision.
Privacy and confidentiality
Full respect for the patient’s privacy and the preservation of secrets related to him/her are mandatory, except in cases where the law provides exceptions.
At all stages of care, respect for the patient’s privacy is essential and the necessary facilities must be provided to guarantee it.
Only the patient, the treatment team, persons authorized by the patient, and those authorized by law will have access to the information.
The patient has the right to be accompanied by a trusted person during the diagnostic and treatment stages. Children also have the right to be accompanied by one of their parents during all stages of treatment, except in cases where medical necessity prevents it.