Patients' Rights

1. Right to Healthcare

Every patient, regardless of whether they are a Hungarian citizen or have valid insurance, has the right in cases of urgent need to:

life-saving treatment,

care to prevent severe or permanent health damage, and

pain relief and alleviation of suffering.

Insured individuals have the right to

appropriate,

continuously accessible, and

non-discriminatory

healthcare justified by their health condition.

Patients are free to choose the hospital for their care (of course, if their health condition allows for it), and they also have the right to select the physician providing their care. The right to choose a physician in hospitals can be exercised in accordance with the operating rules of the institution.

Patients have the right to initiate an examination by another physician and seek their opinion regarding the diagnosed condition, proposed therapy, as well as planned discharge from the hospital or referral to another facility, based on the diagnosis made by the attending physician.

2. Right to Human Dignity

During healthcare provision, the patient's human dignity must be respected.

Patients may only be kept waiting for a reasonable period and for a justified reason.

During the patient's care, their clothing can only be removed for the necessary time and to the extent justified by professional reasons, taking into account their sense of modesty.

3 Right to Communication

During the patient's hospitalization, they have the right to maintain contact with other individuals, either in writing or verbally, and can receive visitors.

A seriously ill patient (who is incapable of self-care, cannot alleviate pain with medication, or is in a psychological crisis) has the right to have a designated person stay with them.

A child under the age of 18 has the right to have their parent, legal guardian, or a person designated by them or their legal guardian stay with them.

A mother has the right to have a designated adult present with her during labor and childbirth, and after childbirth, if her or her newborn's health does not preclude it, they should be accommodated in the same room.

The above rights can be exercised by the patient

depending on the conditions in the hospital,

while respecting the rights of fellow patients, and

ensuring the uninterrupted provision of healthcare.

The detailed rules of this are determined by the hospital's internal regulations, without restricting the content of these rights.

4. Right to Leave the Institution

Patients have the right to leave the hospital if it does not endanger the physical integrity or health of others. The intention to leave should be reported to the attending physician.

If the hospital intends to discharge the patient, they, or their relatives, must be informed in advance (preferably at least 24 hours before the planned discharge).

5. Right to Information

Patients have the right to receive detailed information from their treating physician regarding:

their health condition, including the medical assessment of it,

recommended examinations, interventions, and their results,

the possible benefits and risks of the proposed examinations or interventions, as well as their timing,

other possible procedures and methods,

the course of treatment and expected outcomes,

further treatments, and

recommended lifestyle changes.

Patients have the right to ask questions during and after the information session.

Patients can waive their right to be informed, and they have the right to designate a person to be informed in their place.

6. Consent to Medical Treatment

For any medical intervention to be performed, it is a requirement that the patient gives informed consent based on appropriate information. In the case of invasive interventions (surgery, infusion, radiation therapy), consent is only valid in writing.

Patients have the right to withdraw their consent for the intervention at any time. However, if consent is withdrawn without a valid reason, the patient may be obligated to reimburse any resulting and justified costs.

If the patient is unable to provide consent for treatment (due to unconsciousness or a confused state) and has not previously authorized someone to exercise their right to consent on their behalf, the treating physician must consult with the patient's relatives about whether they consent to the treatment. However, consent from relatives is only required before invasive interventions (e.g., surgery, any other procedure involving anesthesia, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, etc.), and their decision must not adversely affect the patient's health (i.e., they cannot refuse a significant, life-saving procedure on behalf of an unconscious patient).

However, if consulting with relatives would cause significant delays and endanger the patient's condition, the treating physician may, at their discretion, make the decision without consulting the relatives.

7. Refusal of Treatment

Generally, competent adult patients have the right to refuse any form of treatment. Treatment that, if withheld, would foreseeably lead to the patient's death (such as life-sustaining or life-saving interventions, e.g., artificial respiration, discontinuation of artificial nutrition) can only be refused if the patient is:

suffering from an incurable,

severe illness,

which, according to the current state of medical science, will lead to death in a short time, even with appropriate healthcare,

as determined by a three-member medical board (consisting of the patient's attending physician, a specialist relevant to the nature of the illness not involved in the patient's treatment, and a psychiatrist) who examines the patient and unanimously provides written consent acknowledging that the patient has made their decision with full awareness of the consequences, and that the aforementioned conditions are met, and

the patient reaffirms their intention to refuse treatment three days after the medical board's statement, in the presence of two witnesses.

The statement is valid if:

the patient personally writes and signs it throughout,

someone else writes it (e.g., by machine), and the patient and two witnesses sign it (the witnesses do not need to know the content of the statement; they only confirm the identity of the signatories), or

it is prepared by a notary public.

Patients can withdraw their statement of refusal at any time without formal requirements.

8. Right to Access Health Documentation and Right to Medical Confidentiality

Patients have the right to access their own healthcare documentation (such as medical records, fever charts, discharge summaries, and examination results) and receive copies of these documents at their own expense.

Patients have the right to ensure that individuals involved in their healthcare (healthcare providers) only disclose their healthcare and personal information (medical confidentiality) to authorized individuals and handle them confidentially during the provision of healthcare services. The obligation of confidentiality is permanent and does not expire with the completion of the patient's treatment.

The patient has the right to declare who can be informed about his illness and its expected outcome, and who he excludes from partial or complete access to his health data. However, there are cases where the hospital is obligated to provide information without the patient's consent (e.g., in response to requests from the court, police, prosecutor's office, or expert authorities, or in cases of certain infectious diseases).

Patients have the right to ensure that only those individuals who are necessary for their examination and treatment are present during the healthcare process, or those to whom the patient has given consent, except as otherwise provided by law.

Patients have the right to undergo examinations and treatment under circumstances where others cannot see or hear them without their consent, except in cases of urgent necessity and imminent danger when such privacy is unavoidable.

9. Patient Responsibilities

When utilizing healthcare services, patients are obligated to adhere to relevant laws and institutional regulations.

Patients, to the extent their health condition allows, are required to collaborate with healthcare professionals involved in their care, providing them with information that may be important for their treatment, following instructions received from them, and adhering to the rules and regulations of the healthcare institution.

While exercising their rights, patients and their relatives are obliged to respect the rights of other patients.

10. Exercising Patient Rights

Patients have the right to file complaints regarding healthcare services with the healthcare provider (hospital, clinic director) or the entity responsible for healthcare services (municipality, in the case of national institutions, the Ministry of Health). The healthcare provider or responsible entity is obliged to investigate the complaint and inform the patient in writing of the results within 10 working days.

Since January 1, 2000, patient advocates have been established in all hospitals. Patient advocates are not employed by the hospital but are under the State Public Health and Medical Officer Service. Their main task is to assist patients in understanding and exercising their rights and to ensure that their complaints are appropriately addressed if necessary. Patient advocates can only access a patient's healthcare documentation if the patient has authorized them to do so in writing, and they are also bound by confidentiality.