PATIENT RIGHTS

Your right to decide includes the right to information and the right to accept or refuse a particular diagnostic or therapeutic procedure. These rights can only be restricted in exceptional cases if it is justified by your health condition.

The patient has the right to be informed about his state of health and the right to refuse the information about:

1. their health condition
2. the recommended examinations and interventions, advantages and risks of carrying them out or not, and the planned dates for carrying them out
3. the outcome of a particular diagnostic or therapeutic procedure,
4. their right to decide on the recommended examinations or procedures,
5. possible substitutes for the recommended procedures,
6. details on the course of procedures during the provision of healthcare services
7. the further course of healthcare provision,
8. the recommended lifestyle,
9. health insurance rights and procedures for exercising these rights.

At the oral or written request of the patient, the information must be given by a highly qualified healthcare professional providing a healthcare service directly to the patient.

The patient always has the right to obtain a second opinion on their state of health, which must be provided at their oral or written request by a healthcare professional with high professional qualifications and appropriate specialization who has not been involved in the direct provision of a specific healthcare service.

The patient has the right to be informed, before any intervention, of the names and specialties of the persons directly entrusted with their medical care and, after any intervention, of the success or failure and the outcome of the intervention, as well as the reasons for any deviations from the expected results.

The patient has the right to refuse to be informed about the nature of their health condition and the expected outcome of the proposed and/or performed medical procedures and measures in a written and signed statement.

If the patient is a person with full legal capacity, they cannot waive their right to information in cases where they need to be informed about the nature of their illness in order not to endanger the health of other persons; however, they have the right to designate in writing or by other reliable means a person to be informed in their place.

You have the right to be informed even if your consent is not a prerequisite for the start of treatment (e.g. in emergencies).

A patient who is limited in their capacity of judgment due to their age or their physical, mental or psychological condition, as well as their legal representative or guardian, also have the right to be informed.

The patient has the right to accept or refuse a specific diagnostic or therapeutic procedure, unless it is an urgent medical intervention, non-compliance with which would endanger the patient’s life and health or cause permanent damage to health. The patient expresses their consent to a specific diagnostic or therapeutic procedure by signing the consent form.

A blind person, a deaf person who cannot read, a mute person who cannot write and a deaf-blind person expresses their consent to a specific diagnostic or therapeutic procedure by a declaration in the form of a notarial deed or by a declaration made before two witnesses designating a legally competent person to accept or refuse such a procedure on their behalf.

In the case of an unconscious patient, a patient with severe mental disorders, and a legally incompetent or minor patient, except in the case of urgent medical intervention, the consent to the diagnostic or therapeutic procedure shall be signed by the patient’s legal representative or guardian.

The patient’s legal representative or guardian may, in the interests of the patient, revoke the given consent at any time by signing a declaration of refusal of a specific diagnostic procedure. If the interests of the patient and their legal representative or guardian are in conflict, the healthcare professional is obliged to immediately inform the relevant social care center.

If it is not possible to obtain the consent of the legal representative or guardian due to an urgent situation, the patient shall only undergo a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure if failure to carry out the procedure would directly endanger their life, or the life of another person, or if they or other persons would be in serious and immediate danger due to severe damage to health. The procedure may only be carried out without the consent of the patient’s legal representative or guardian for as long as the identified danger persists.

Explicit consent is required when scientific research is carried out or when the patient is included in clinical teaching.

The patient has the right to receive precise and comprehensible written information about the nature, significance, consequences and risks of participation in scientific research or clinical teaching.

In the case of legally incompetent or underage patients, consent is given by their legal representative or guardian, who may revoke consent at any time if this is contrary to the patient's interests.

Interventions to modify human genome may only be carried out for preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, provided that the modification is not intended to alter the genome of the patient's offspring.

Tests that indicate genetic diseases or serve to identify the patient as the carrier of the gene responsible for the disease or to determine a genetic predisposition or susceptibility to the disease may only be carried out for health purposes or for scientific research related to health purposes and with appropriate genetic counseling.

The patient has the right to access all medical documentation related to the diagnosis and treatment of their illness and to request, at their expense, a copy of the medical documentation available via Link.

In the event of the patient's death, unless the patient has expressly forbidden this during their lifetime, the patient's spouse or common-law partner, an adult child, a parent, an adult brother or sister, and the patient's legal representative or guardian have the right to inspect their medical records and request a copy. The refusal to allow access to the medical records is made by the patient in a written statement certified by a notary.

The patient can  send a request for the release of medical records to pismohrana@kbd.hr

For all information, please contact the Medical Records and Information Department.

The patient has the right to confidentiality of data related to their health condition and the patient has the right to make a written statement about the persons who can be informed about their admission to Dubrava University Hospital and about their health condition. The patient may specify in writing the persons to whom they prohibit the disclosure of this data.

The patient has the right to leave Dubrava University Hospital at will, except in cases where this would be detrimental to the patient's health and the health or safety of other persons. The patient is obliged to make a written declaration of their intention to leave Dubrava University Hospital or an oral declaration made  in front of two witnesses present at the same time who will sign the declaration of their intention to leave the facility.

The responsible medical staff is obliged to enter the information about the unannounced voluntary departure from the facility in the patient's medical documentation. If the patient's state of health so requires, the responsible healthcare professional is obliged to inform the person authorised by the patient about the unannounced departure from the facility. If the patient is incapable of judgement, i.e. a minor, the responsible healthcare professional is obliged to inform their legal representative or guardian.

During the examination or treatment, and especially during personal care, the patient has the right to conditions that guarantee his privacy.

The patient's right to compensation is governed by the general provisions of mandatory law. If the patient believes that they have been harmed in the provision of healthcare, they can file a claim for damages with the competent court. Before filing a lawsuit, the patient is asked to inform the Dubrava University Hospital Director's Office about the request for compensation in order to try to settle the dispute amicably.

Patients' other rights include protection from any form of abuse, neglect or harassment, the right to effective pain control, the right to healthcare provision in a safe environment, the right to make requests and the right to make objections or complaints to the management of the facility and/or the competent authorities, in accordance with the Regulation on Accreditation Standards for Hospital Healthcare Facilities (Official Gazette 92/19).