Belgium's Medical Association has expressed concern about the provisions of a bill aimed at reforming the 2002 Law on Patients' Rights.
The association said in a statement made public on Tuesday that it fears the bill might lead to the judicialisation of relations between patient and doctor. It also fears the proposed law would result in excessive red tape.
The draft, which Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke opened for public consultation until 18 April, seeks to modernise the legislation on patients’ rights, with its objectives including the possibility of advance care planning.
It would upgrade the 2002 law, which enshrines several rights such as the right to quality services, to choose one’s doctor, to be informed or to give free and informed consent.
New bill is an evolution, not a revolution, says Health Minister
The plan is not a revolution but an evolution, the Health Minister said at a recent press conference. “The quality of care does not only depend on the quality of medical acts, but goes far beyond that. For example, a patient who knows that he or she has an incurable disease may value time at home with his or her family more than prolonging life through therapeutic interventions in hospital," the minister explained.
“It may also happen that a patient still wants to achieve certain personal goals which he or she prefers to prioritise. This is very personal and individual. It is therefore important that health care providers take into account as much as possible the wishes and expectations of their patients, within the limits of their therapeutic freedom,” he stressed.
In this context, the draft introduces the possibility of advance care planning, which would allow, for example, chronically ill patients to plan their care over the course of their lives. A first decision has already been taken in this direction, as reimbursement has recently been decided for doctors who engage in such planning.
Bill designed 'in the interest of (...), with and by the patient'
“Planning is not only a tool for the end of life. It is interesting for everyone to look into the future and to ask themselves what the goal of care is,” stressed lawyer Jacqueline Herremans, a pioneer of the right to die with dignity, who led the drafting of the text together with Tom Goffin (UGent).
This modernisation of the law is designed “in the interest of the patient, with the patient and by the patient,” the text’s drafters said.
The patient is seen as a person with his or her own preferences and goals in life and health. In addition to planning, the text allows the patient to determine how to involve his or her family and relatives in the care as a trusted person or representative.
More information for the patient
Relatives would also have the right to access a patient’s medical file after his/her death and the possibility to lodge a complaint.
Further, the new law would give patients more information, for example on the professional qualifications and experience of a care provider or on the cost of a treatment.
Debates and seminars have already been held to modernise the law while the Chamber has also adopted a resolution in this regard.
Minister Vandenbroucke hopes to have the law voted on before the end of the legislature.
