With the patient rights regulation adopted in our country in 1998, the rights of international patients during medical intervention are under legal protection. As a matter of fact, the regulation was prepared in accordance with the Lisbon and Amsterdam conventions and protected the most fundamental rights of the patient.
Transferring all data related to health tourists to Ministry without anonymizing, securing and specifying how these data will be processed is against national legislations and international conventions which Turkey has to comply with.
Personal data regarding foreign patients are only anonymized and transferred to the central system in accordance with its purpose, in order to protect the privacy of the international health tourist’s private life. In this framework, the patient’s information should not be shared with third parties (family, close circle) except in emergencies, and the patient’s personal and family life should not be interfered with unless the nature of the disease requires it.
The patient has the right to refuse the treatment to be applied at the planning stage or while the treatment is being applied. However, in this case, the consequences of refusing the treatment should be explained to the patient very well and the patient’s written consent should be obtained.
The patient has the right to all kinds of complaints and lawsuits, both criminal and legal, in case his/her rights are violated. In case the patient whose right has been violated is minor or mentally incompetent, the right to file a lawsuit and complaint may be exercised by the parent or guardian.
