Patient’s rights are regulated by Law no. 46/2003 and the Norms of Application through the Order of the Ministry of Public Health no. 386/2004. For the purposes of this law:

CHAPTER 1
Art. 1

1. a) the patient means the healthy or sick person who uses the health services;
2. b) discrimination means the distinction that is made between persons in similar situations on the basis of race, sex, age, ethnicity, national or social origin, religion, political options or personal dislike;
3. c) health care means medical services, community services and services related to the medical act;
4. d) medical intervention means any examination, treatment or other medical act for the purpose of preventive, therapeutic or rehabilitation diagnosis;
5. e) terminal care means the care provided to a patient with the available means of treatment, when it is no longer possible to improve the fatal prognosis of the disease condition, as well as the care provided near the death.

Art. 2 – Patients are entitled to the highest quality medical care available to the company, in accordance with human, financial and material resources.
Art. 3 –  Pacientul are dreptul de a fi respectat ca persoană umană, fără nici o discriminare.

CHAPTER II – The patient’s right to medical information

Art. 4. – The patient has the right to be informed about the available medical services, as well as how to use them.

Art. 5. – (1) The patient has the right to be informed about the identity and professional status of the health service providers. (2) The hospitalized patient has the right to be informed about the rules and customs that he must observe during the hospitalization.

Art. 6. – The patient has the right to be informed about his/her state of health, of the proposed medical interventions, of the potential risks of each procedure, of the alternatives existing to the proposed procedures, including the failure to perform the treatment and the non-observance of the medical recommendations, as well as about cases on diagnosis and prognosis.

Art. 7. – The patient has the right to decide whether he wishes to be informed if the information presented by the doctor would cause him suffering.

Art. 8. – The information is made known to the patient in a respectful, clear language, with the minimization of the specialized terminology; In case the patient does not know the Romanian language, the information will be communicated in the mother tongue or in the language he knows or, as the case may be, another form of communication will be sought.

Art. 9. – The patient has the right to expressly request not to be informed and to choose another person to be informed instead.

Art. 10. – Relatives and friends of the patient can be informed about the evolution of investigations, diagnosis, and treatment, with the patient’s consent.

Art. 11. – The patient has the right to request and obtain another medical opinion.

Art. 12. – The patient has the right to request and receive, upon discharge, a written summary of the investigations, diagnosis, treatment, and care provided during the hospitalization period.

CHAPTER III – Patient’s consent regarding medical intervention

Art. 13. – The patient has the right to refuse or stop a medical intervention assuming, in writing, the responsibility for his decision; the consequences of refusing or stopping medical records should be explained to the patient.

Art. 14. – When the patient cannot express his will, but urgent medical intervention is required, the medical personnel have the right to deduce the patient’s agreement from a previous expression of his will.

Art. 15. – In case the patient needs an emergency medical intervention, the consent of the legal representative is no longer required.

Art. 16. – If the consent of the legal representative is required, the patient must be involved in the decision-making process as much as his capacity of understanding allows.

Art. 17. – (1) If the providers of medical services consider that the intervention is in the patient’s interest and the legal representative refuses to give his consent, the decision is declined to a specialized arbitration commission. (2) The arbitration commission consists of 3 doctors for the patients admitted to the hospital and 2 doctors from the ambulatory.

Art. 18. – The patient’s consent is compulsory for the collection, storage, use of all biological products taken from his body, in order to establish the diagnosis or the treatment which he agrees with.

Art. 19. – The patient’s consent is obligatory in case of his participation in clinical medical education and/or in scientific research. Persons who are not capable of expressing their will cannot be used for scientific research, except with the consent of the legal representative and if the research is also done in the patient’s interest.

Art. 20. – The patient cannot be photographed or filmed in a medical unit without his consent unless the images are necessary for the diagnosis or treatment and to avoid suspecting a medical fault.

CHAPTER IV – The right to the confidentiality of information and the patient’s private life

Art. 21. – All the information on the patient’s condition, the results of the investigations, the diagnosis, the prognosis, the treatment, the personal data are confidential even after his death.

Art. 22. – Information of a confidential nature can be provided only if the patient gives his explicit consent or if the law expressly requests it.

Art. 23. – If the information is needed to other accredited medical providers, involved in the treatment of the patient, consent is no longer required.

Art. 24. – The patient has access to personal medical data.

Art. 25. – (1) Any mixture in the private, family life of the patient is forbidden, unless this interference positively influences the diagnosis, treatment or care given and only with the patient’s consent. (2) Exceptions shall be considered in cases where the patient represents a danger to himself or to the public health.

CHAPTER V – Patient’s rights in the field of reproduction

Art. 26. – The woman’s right to life prevails if the pregnancy represents a major and immediate risk factor for the mother’s life.

Art. 27. – The patient has the right to information, education, and services necessary for the development of a normal sex life and reproductive health, without any discrimination.

Art. 28. – (1) The right of the woman to decide whether or not to have children is guaranteed, except in the case provided for in art. 26.

(2) The patient, through the health services, has the right to choose the safest methods regarding reproductive health.

(3) Every patient has the right to efficient and risk-free family planning methods

CHAPTER VI – Patient’s rights to treatment and medical care

Art. 29. – (1) If the providers are obliged to resort to the selection of patients for certain types of treatment that are available in a limited number, the selection is made only on the basis of medical criteria.

(2) The medical criteria regarding the selection of patients for certain types of treatment shall be elaborated by the Ministry of Health and Family within 30 days from the date of entry into force of the present law and shall be made public.

Art. 30. – (1) The medical interventions on the patient can be performed only if there are the necessary endowment conditions and accredited personnel. (2) Except for the provisions of par. (1) emergencies in extreme situations

Art. 31. – The patient has the right to terminal care in order to die with dignity.

Art. 32. – The patient can benefit from the support of family, friends, spiritual support, material and advice throughout the medical care. At the request of the patient, as far as possible, the care and treatment environment will be created as close as possible to the familiar one.

Art. 33. – The hospitalized patient also has the right to medical services provided by an accredited doctor outside the hospital.

Art. 34. – (1) The medical or non-medical personnel of the health units do not have the right to subject the patient to any form of pressure in order to determine him to reward him other than the pre-payment regulations in the respective unit.

(2) The patient may offer to the employees or the unit where additional payments or donations have been taken care of, in compliance with the law.

Art. 35. – (1) The patient has the right to continuous medical care until the improvement of his state of health or until healing.

(2) The continuity of the care is ensured by the collaboration and the partnership between the different public and nonpublic, hospitals and ambulatory medical units, specialized or general medicine, offered by doctors, medical staff or other qualified personnel. After discharge, patients are entitled to available community services.

Art. 36. – The patient has the right to benefit from emergency medical care, emergency dental assistance and pharmaceutical services, in a continuous program.

OBLIGATIONS OF HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS

1) To present at the hospitalization the Identity Card/Bulletin, as well as the supporting documents attesting the quality of insured;
2) To respect the program of the hospital;
3) To respect the interior order of the hospital, the peace, and the cleanliness;
4) Do not make noises that cause discomfort to other patients;
5) To show concern for the goods provided by the hospital, and in case of fault he is to pay their value, otherwise, he is subject to the rules of civil law;
6) To manifest a civilized behavior towards the medical-sanitary personnel;
7) To respect the rules of personal and collective hygiene;
8) To strictly respect the treatment and the indications of the doctor;
10) Follow the diet indicated by the doctor;
11) To wear hospital equipment and not to leave the hospital premises in this equipment;
12) To not consume or introduce alcoholic beverages inside the hospital;
13) To comply with the measures for the prevention and control of communicable diseases;
14) To observe the visit program in order not to disrupt the medical activity;
15) Do not smoke in the hospital;

THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING!