Patients have the right to know their state of health
Patients have the right to know their state of health
November 13, 2009
"In order to respect the autonomy of the patient, it is important that he or she is fully informed about and understand the potential benefits and dangers of the choice of treatment he or she is being given," he said.
The dialogue on the theme: "Hippocratic Oath within the Framework of the Right to Information," seeks to create a platform for health professionals and human rights activists to discuss the oath and scrutinize the RTI bill, which will set the pace for combining health knowledge with knowledge of law and ethics.
"Unfortunately, partly because of the pressure on our doctors, the mass production character of their practice and sometimes the elitist attitudes of doctors to simple ordinary patients, many medical doctors do not in their practice demonstrate this responsibility to inform the patient about his condition and the treatment being given," he said.
This, he said, was dangerous because it "dis-empowers" the patient who might commit some error because of lack of full disclosures of the nature of the ailment and treatment by the medical practitioner.
Mr. Ampaw said the country's Evidence Decree does not provide for a general patient-physician privilege, rather made provision for confidentiality of communication between patient and a physician or psychologist etc in the diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition.
On sanctions for medical practitioners who violate the Hippocratic Oath, Mr. Ampaw said the law gave authority to the Medical and Dental Council to secure the public interest by ensuring the highest standards in the practice of medicine and dentistry.
Mr. Ampaw was, however, not happy about the lack of guidelines as to what constitutes 'infamous conduct in a professional respect,' saying it was unsatisfactory to give the disciplinary committee such wide discretion to determine what constituted infamous conduct.
"I would like to suggest that the Ghana Medical Association takes the lead in consulting with the Ministry of Health and the Attorney General to ensure that we also have some elaborate binding rules to guide medical practitioners in carrying out their profession in an ethical manner," he said.
The law can contribute to enhancing the practice in the cause of saving peoples' lives.
In Ghana, this is echoed in Article 21 (1) (f) of the 1992 Constitution which provides for every individual's right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society.
The law places an obligation on public agencies and private bodies to provide to any person access to information and in response to a formal request received, in a timely, inexpensive and reasonable manner.