Does a patient&#39;s family have any legal rights to know the patient&#39;s health and billing information in India?
<p><strong>Background:</strong></p>
<p>My friend was infected with Covid, and after a week he was not able to take breath. We urgently admitted him to a private hospital located in Gujarat, India, for oxygen because of most other hospitals were full.</p>
<p><strong>Situation:</strong></p>
<p>The private hospital in Gujrat, India:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Sometimes they say the patient's condition is very good and will be discharged in 2 days.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Sometimes the say the patient's condition is very critical with only a 5% chance and just pray to God.</p>
</li>
<li><p>They are demanding money every 1 or 2 days to pay 50k / 100k (INR) - only in cash.</p>
</li>
<li><p>In 18 days they demanded, and we paid 500k (INR), in cash, but still the patient has not recovered.</p>
</li>
<li><p>They are not providing any payment bills</p>
</li>
<li><p>They are not providing the patient's health reports</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Question:</strong></p>
<p>Does a patient's family have any legal rights to know the patient's health and details at the above points?</p>
<p>I am not sure whether there should be some legal process or any community to support for this kind of situation.</p>

<p>After extensive cursory research, a Charter of Patient Rights was located, which was proposed in September 2018. However, after reading the rather lengthy details of this Charter, it appears as if there are too many areas which leave the government - therefore, the healthcare workers - loopholes to make the decision for the family. However, this Charter does make it clear that the patient has many more rights than what were apparently available to them before this time. Example, one bullet points out that &quot;As per Supreme Court, all hospitals both governmental and private, are duty-bound to provide basic emergency medical care, and injured patients have the right to get emergency medical care.&quot; I would be extremely cautious, about the entire Charter. As one is able to discern by reading this simple example, they leave plenty of room for their own discretion as well. What I mean is this: though these hospitals are duty-bound to provide emergency medical care, this Charter does not provide for the level of care that these caregivers are duty-bound to give to these patients. A good provision is &quot;Such care must be initiated without demand for payment in advance, and the basic care should be given to the patient regardless of the ability to pay.&quot; Another point to pay attention to: Care must be &quot;initiated&quot; without demand in advance.&quot; No provision says they cannot stop the care and demand payment in full before continuing. Next, this provision states that &quot;the basic care should be given....&quot; So, when I am in an emergent situation, I expect the best care, not the basic care. However, in a few places I shall not name, basic is the best they provide.
Further into the Charter, one finds what you may be up against, &quot;Right to Confidentiality, Human Dignity, and Privacy.&quot; That is the 5th point, in succession. I'm of the opinion that the family may be facing quite the difficulty, as this provision states in the first bullet point: &quot;All patients have the right to privacy and doctors have a duty to hold information about their health conditions and treatment plans in the strictest confidence.&quot; The 15th condition in the Charter provides this: &quot;Right to Take Discharge of Patient....&quot; The bullet point, &quot;A patient has the right to take the discharge and cannot be detained in a hospital, on procedural grounds such as a dispute in payment of hospital charges.&quot;
Apparently, as I was prepossessed on this matter, the patient has all of these rights - the patient's family does not seem to possess any particular right to the patient in India even, in the hospital.
Resource:
Do you know your rights as a patient? Read to know about the document drafted by the Government. (2018, September 7). USA Today: India Today. Retrieved May 17, 2021, from <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/rights-of-patients-drafted-by-government-india-1334339-2018-09-07" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/rights-of-patients-drafted-by-government-india-1334339-2018-09-07</a></p>

india medical