Current sıtuatıon of patıent rıghts ın turkey

Patient rights is a subject that has recently gained importance in our country as in the rest of the world. To protect his own right one must be aware of them. We aimed in the present study to examine the extent of patient awareness about their rights and the relevance of patient complaints. We also aimed to shed light on future studies on this subject.This study was a retrospective study. A total of 2557 patient complaints filed to local Patient Rights Unit between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.The files in the Patient Rights unit were assessed with regard to complainant’s age, gender, educational and employment status, complained-about unit and employee, and matter of complaint. The relationship of these demographic data with years and each other were also determined.The study data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical PackageforSocialSciences) Windows 19.00 software package.Statistical analyses were performed with X2 test. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.The average age of the complainants was 41 years. Most complainants were male, workers, and high school graduates. The most complained-about units and staff were internal branches and physicians, respectively. The complaints were mostly related to inability to access health care. With an exception of an increased rate of complaints over years, the years in review were not significantly different from each other. It was also noted that the complainants-about staff and unit as well as complaint matter were also related to educational and employment status. No relationship was evident between complaining-about units and complaint matters. There was a significant relationship between complained-about staff and complaint matter. Female patients complained more about breach of patient confidentiality. The relevance of the filed complaints varied by educational and employment status, age, unit, staff, and years. Filed complaints should be carefully assessed to prevent violation of patient rights. We consider that it will be beneficial to give education to health care staff and patients.

کلیدواژه ها:

patient rights ، complaint ، neglect