Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih.

Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih will inaugurate the 1st Gulf Patient Rights Conference on Feb. 28 at King Faisal Conference Hall at the Riyadh InterContinental Hotel.

The three-day conference will tackle a host of issues related to patient rights either from the theoretical or applied perspectives.

The issues include the current state of patient rights practices, role of health facilities and health team members, and regulatory authorities and educational, professional and legal institutions in promoting patient rights.

Also, these issues include differentiating between patient rights and employee’s rights, rights of special patient groups — patients who are disabled, patients with cancer, those with mental and chronic diseases, patients with hopeless cases (palliative care) — patient rights from the Islamic perspective, international and regional experiences in patient rights, and the role of civil society organizations in supporting patient rights.

More than 50 experts in health care, law, psychology, sociology and management are expected to participate in the conference, representing Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab countries as well as several national, regional and international organizations.

The local organizations include Saudi Human Rights Commission, Saudi Health Council, Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, Saudi Commission for Health Specialties and King Saud University.

Regional and international organizations include Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office affiliated with the World Health Organization, Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences and Imperial College London.

The Kingdom was one of the first Arab countries to adapt the concepts of patient and family rights, whether as a normal measure in response to the teachings of Islam, the country’s religion, or in compliance with international pacts including the UN charter on human rights that include patient rights.

Healthcare facilities in the country began to implement modern quality management and accreditation initiatives since the beginning of 21st century.

One of the most tangible measures taken to promote patient rights was by the Ministry of Health when it included patient rights as an integral part of the mandate of its patient relations department.

The department name was changed to the patient relations and rights department following the first Ministry of Health conference on patient relations and rights in Riyadh in 2011, patronized by former Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.

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