The Patient’s Rights Act, enacted in 1996, clarifies already in its first article what the purpose of the law: “To determine the rights of a person who seeks medical treatment or receives medical treatment and to protect his dignity and privacy.”
Among the main things that the law is intended to ensure, the following may be noted as examples: A. The right to receive medical treatment without discrimination (due to sexual orientation, religious belief, origin etc.). B. The doctor’s duty to provide the patient with reliable and accurate information about the treatment he or she is going to undergo, so that he/she can reasonably make up his/her mind concerning the treatment (informed consent). C. The obligation of all members of the medical staff to keep and respect the dignity and privacy of the patient. D. The obligation to provide proper treatment, both professionally and from the strict human perspective.
The rights of a person in need of medical treatment are regulated by other laws, such as the Equal Rights for People with Disabilities Act and the National Health Insurance Act. The National Health Insurance Act is the law that regulates the manner of receiving public medical services in the State of Israel and, in some cases, the receipt of medical treatment outside the State of Israel.
Our office was established in order to help everyone realize their rights, including the right to adequate, equal and professional medical treatment: We have conducted legal proceedings against doctors who discriminated patients on grounds of gender and sexual orientation or due to HIV bearers; against HMOs who refused to pay for medical treatment abroad and who inflicted damage upon the privacy of patients and exposed of medical information about them.
