Right to Choose a Physician
What is the Right to Choose a Physician?
The right to choose a physician can be expressed as the right of patients and their relatives to choose and change their healthcare professional—which is the most fundamental patient right—and to play a participatory role in their diagnosis and treatment.
The right to choose a physician is included in national and international texts as follows:
"The patient has the right to choose his/her physician freely." (Declaration of Lisbon, 1981),
"Patients have the right to choose and change their physicians or other healthcare personnel and healthcare institutions, in accordance with the functioning of the healthcare system." (Declaration of Amsterdam, 28-30 March 1994),
"The patient has the right to freely choose and change their physician and hospital or healthcare institutions, regardless of whether they are in the private or public sector. The patient has the right to seek the opinion of another physician at any stage." (Declaration of Bali, September 1995),
"Every individual with adequate information has the right to choose among different treatment procedures (methods) and the persons who will provide the treatment. The patient has the right to decide on which diagnostic and treatment method to use and on the choice of doctor, specialist, or hospital. Healthcare services must guarantee the exercise of this right by providing information about the various centers (healthcare institutions) and doctors performing this treatment and the results obtained. All obstacles restricting the exercise of this right must be removed. A person who does not trust their doctor may request (choose) another doctor." (European Charter of Patients' Rights Basic Document, Rome, November 2002),
"Without prejudice to the procedures and rules applied in healthcare institutions, the patient freely chooses his/her physician and dentist." (1960, Medical Deontology Regulation, Article 5),
"Provided that the procedures determined by the legislation are complied with, the patient has the right to freely choose the personnel who will provide healthcare services to him/her, to change the physician dealing with his/her treatment, and to request consultations from other physicians." (1998, Patient Rights Regulation, Article 9),
"An arrangement is made for every clinician specialist available in inpatient tertiary care institutions to provide outpatient services, thereby enabling patients to choose their physician." (2005, Inpatient Treatment Management Regulation, Article 8)
"Every patient should have the right to change the person and institution providing healthcare services to him/her, provided that it is appropriate for the healthcare system and deemed suitable by the authorized physician." (Patient Rights and Responsibilities TS-12222-April 1997)
"The patient is free to choose his/her physician according to the rules determined by the legislation, the characteristics of the medical practice, and the conditions of the institution." (Regulation on Medical Professional Ethics, Article 22)
As seen, the right to choose a physician is set forth very clearly and precisely in national and international texts.
In order for this right to be exercised in our hospital, the number of outpatient clinic rooms has been increased, and patients are enabled to choose their physician with an arrangement aimed at ensuring that every clinician specialist provides outpatient services.
In addition, the "Directive on the Organization of Outpatient Services in Healthcare Provision to Allow Patients to Choose and Change Their Physicians" was published by our Ministry with the Approval dated October 17, 2007, and Number 9379. Therefore, it is aimed to realize the items in Article 5 of this directive.
Article 5- (1) In the provision of outpatient services, it is essential to:
a) Allow the patient to choose their physician in institutions in order to ensure the exercise of the right to choose and change the physician who will provide healthcare services to them, which is one of the fundamental patient rights,
b) Prevent overcrowding during certain hours and reduce patient waiting times by providing an outpatient room for each physician and increasing the number of rooms where outpatient care is conducted,
c) Ensure that patients choose the physician with whom they can best cooperate and communicate in healthcare delivery,
d) Ensure that patients can be examined by the same physician at each visit to the healthcare institution, if they so wish,
e) Ensure the right of the patient to change their physician at any stage of their treatment in the inpatient care institution,
f) Ensure the standardization of physician choice practices in healthcare institutions and uniformity in practice within the provision of healthcare services,
g) Provide information to the patient, upon request within the scope of the right to choose and change a physician, regarding the identities, duties, and titles of the physicians who provide or will provide healthcare services to them,
ğ) Consider the patient's benefit in all arrangements to be made, inform patients by providing necessary counseling services, and carry out practices that will facilitate staff-patient communication.
Within this scope, a Physician Duty Schedule is also organized in our hospital so that patients can choose their physicians.