Patient majority does not know their rights

Over 61 percent of Germans do not know their patients' rights at the doctor or hospital. The Federal Ministry of Health plans a new patient rights law and wants to expand individual laws.

12/11/2010

According to a study Bertelsmann Foundation over 61 percent of Germans do not fully know their rights at the doctor or hospital. The federal government wants to pass a simplified patient rights law to make individual laws more understandable and compliant. In addition, individual laws are to be enforced against the resistance of the medical association.

Almost in all areas of life, the Germans are known to know their rights and to fully enforce their financial claims. Apparently, this knowledge does not apply to patients' rights for doctors or clinics. According to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, around 61 percent of Germans do not have precise ideas about the legal position of doctors and hospitals. For most, the central legal position in medical care is a foreign word. This is the result of a nationwide survey of 1800 people, which was presented on Friday in Berlin.

The results of the study in detail: According to the survey, 95 percent of respondents said they have a right to choose the doctor freely. However, only about 76 percent of participants knew that free choice also applies to clinics. Seventy percent of respondents knew that the attending physician should not inform relatives about their condition without the consent of the patient. More than half of the study participants were not sure whether the doctor should actually always tell the truth. And 40 percent said they could seek euthanasia from their doctor. The latter statement is not one of the anchored patient rights in Germany and is not up for debate.

Ignorance of the law often causes fear of discrimination
People's ignorance of the general legal situation seems to be causing great fear among most participants that they will actually seek to exercise their rights vis-à-vis hospitals and doctors. Thus, clearly more than ten percent of those surveyed stated that claiming patients' rights could lead to significantly worse treatment at the doctor's. Almost 39 percent said that they considered such a restriction to be possible, at least for some physicians. 30 percent also said that they feared to be portrayed as know-it-alls or troublemakers. More than 60 percent said a doctor would probably treat the patient more unfriendly after claiming the rights. Does the information correspond to personal experiences or is it rather the expression of subjective fears? According to the survey, significantly more ill than healthy people fear being treated worse by the doctor after a complaint. To be presented as a know-it-all, however, also considerably more statutory health insurance, than private patients.

Federal Government plans patient rights law
In the course of the survey, the black-yellow federal government announced it would adopt a simplified patient rights law. The bill is to be discussed at the latest next year and subsequently passed by the Bundestag. For this purpose, the patient representative Wolfgang Zöller (CSU) wants to present a first draft to the Federal Health Minister Philipp Rösler (FDP) next week. According to media reports, the existing laws are to be bundled in the draft to give patients a better overview. The main objective is to make the rights more comprehensible and clearer. However, not only the existing laws are to be summarized, but also extended in individual points.

Medical associations criticize extension of patient rights
However, this expansion of the legal situation encounters clear criticism in the medical profession. Thus, the Landesärztekammer Brandenburg criticized the creation of a patient rights law. According to the medical representatives, this model would create an over-regulation of the doctor-patient relationship, leaving little room for maneuver „special relationship of trust“ between doctor and patient permits. With „excessive legal requirements“ (for example, requiring extensive patient receipt or extension of documentation in medical practices) would significantly reduce the effective time for patient treatment, according to physicians. A doctor's treatment does not pose a threat to protect people, the association said. (Sb)

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