Know Your Rights As An International Patient

As an international patient, you have rights. When you plan to get any medical treatment in a foreign country, it is essential to know your rights. 

No matter where you go to get treatment, every healthcare provider should observe a health care ethic that respects both local and international patients' unique situation. 

We know that patients' rights may differ in different countries, and many states have different models, but they are some universal rights that patients are entitled to. 

As a Medical Travel Agency, FlyMedi has always been dedicated to supporting good, safe, and appropriate medical outcomes. Below are some healthcare rights you should expect once you, as an international patient, get in agreement with FlyMedi: 

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You have the right to information

When it comes to the right to information, every international patient has a right:

To adequate, relevant information about the nature, cause of illness, provisional/confirmed diagnosis, proposed investigations and management, and possible complications. This information is explained at the level of a patient's understanding and in a language known to them. 

To request and receive, before treatment, an accurate and complete estimate of your medical care or treatment charges.

To receive information about all prescribed medications, including their names and alternative names as they may be known by in your country of residence, their normal actions and potential side-effects may apply to you.

To ask and be informed about the clinic or hospital, including accreditation status, experience in performing recommended procedures and services, performance results or outcomes, and access to appropriate technology. 

To know the name and professional status of the physician who is responsible for their care. You should know about this information before you leave your home country so that you can have enough time to do your research about the doctor. 

To review your medical records, receive a copy of your medical records and other health-information documents. 

You have the right to choice

When it comes to the right to choose, every international has the right: 

To receive timely and prioritized consultations, surgery and treatment, and timely response to requests and inquiries when you have work and travel constraints.

To have a family member or a friend, as a support person, present during examinations, tests, and meetings with your doctors –whether consultations are done online or in person. 

To make decisions about your medical care. This includes giving informed consent before any medical intervention; receiving information about any proposed treatment procedure or medication you need to enable such informed consent, or refusing a treatment course.

To seek a second opinion or referral to other specialists; and leave the hospital, even against doctors' advice, to the extent permitted by law.

You have the right to confidentiality 

When it comes to the right to confidentiality, privacy, and human dignity, every international patient has the right: 

To receive treatment considerate and respectful of your values and beliefs, without regard to one's nationality, gender, language, race, color, sexual orientation, religion, medical diagnosis, and mental or physical disability. 

To receive evaluation and treatment in confidence and privacy. This includes all written and electronic records, during case discussion, consultation, examination, and treatment except where reporting is required by law.

To receive evaluation and treatment in medical care facilities that guarantee privacy during personal care, examinations, and treatment.

You have the right to complaint

If things don't go the way you expected them to, you have the right to make a complaint about any aspect of the hospital or clinic's care, treatment, or service. 

Before the procedure commences, you have the right to be informed of available resources for resolving disputes, grievances, and conflicts, such as ethics committees, patient representatives. 

You have the right to be treated with respect

All patients have the right to be treated respectfully by their doctors, nurses, and any medical staff. This means that their proper names have to be addressed without undue familiarity, to be listened to when they have a question, and receive an appropriate response.

All patients have the right to receive courteous attention from all personnel when they request help, understanding that other patients may have similar or more urgent needs.

This content is edited by Flymedi Medical Editors in October 2020.