Representatives from many regional and international organizations are attending the conference. (SPA)

More than 50 top national, regional and international experts in health care, law, psychology, sociology and management are discussing issues related to patients’ rights at a conference here.

The three-day event, 1st Gulf Patient Rights Conference, was inaugurated by Deputy Health Minister Hamad Al-Dowailia here on Sunday night.

The topics include patient rights from the Islamic perspective, international and regional experiences and the role of civil society organizations.

The discussions also include diagnosing current state of patient rights practices in GCC countries, role of health facilities and health team members, regulatory authorities and educational, professional and legal institutions in promoting patient rights.

Representatives from many regional and international organizations are attending the conference. Local organizations include Saudi Human Rights Commission, Saudi Health Council, Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, Saudi Commission for Health Specialties and King Saud University.

The regional and international organizations that are participating in the meeting are Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office affiliated with the World Health Organization, Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences and Imperial College London.

As part of the event, Princess Noorah bint Mohammed, the wife of Riyadh governor, launched women’s activities in the conference by inaugurating a forum on promoting awareness on patient rights.

The Kingdom is one of the first Arab countries to adopt the concept of patient and family rights, whether as a normal measure in response to the teachings of Islam or in compliance with international pacts, including the UN charter on human rights that include patient rights.

The country organized its first conference in the field in 2011 under the auspices of former Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah in which the ministry adopted the patients’ rights as an official function and accordingly changed the name of the patient relations department to patient rights and relations department.

Related articles across the web

• Over 5 Million People will be Killed by Pollution, Study
• London hospital admits nurse who recovered from Ebola twice
• British nurse who recovered from Ebola back in hospital again
• London hospital admits nurse who recovered from Ebola twice
• Third hospitalization of Ebola nurse shows uncertainty for survivors
• Making our Digital World Safer From Cyberattacks
• World › International Zika experts descend on Brazil
• Zika Virus Prompts Public Health Emergency
• Ed-tech to the rescue of Saudi Arabia's schools
• Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey admitted to hospital for the third time