Patients Rights & Discrimination in Health Care Essay Example
The patient's bill of rights refers to a list of guarantees to people receiving medical care. It can be a law or a non-binding statement. In real sense, the patient’s bill of rights provides guarantee to fair treatment, autonomy over medical decisions and access to information by the patient. The first hospital to adopt the Patient's Bill of Rights was the American Hospital Association in 1973 with comprehensive revision in October 1992 (Grant, Mottet, Tanis, Herman, Harrison & Keisling, 2010). These rights were formulated to help hospitals and health care institutions deliver effective patient care. However, the AHA encourages heath care institutions to simplify the bill of rights in order to fulfill the needs of particular patient populations and to ensure patients and their families understand their rights and responsibilities.
According to the AHA provisions, patient’s rights can be exerci
...sed on behalf of designated surrogate in case the patient lacks decision-making ability, is legally incompetent, or is a minor. Patients’ bill of rights in forms patients what to expect in heath care institutions (Grant et al., 2010). However, despite the existence of patient’s bill of rights there exists discrimination to some vulnerable groups. Discrimination is heath care refers to unfair treatment as provided the patient’s bill of rights. This essay will address one of the vulnerable groups of populations that experience discrimination in heath care.
One of the groups vulnerable to health care discrimination is the transgender community. This group is the most marginalized population in health care. It is vulnerable because members face verbal abuse, physical assault, or denial to certain services like treatment once they reveal their gender. Transgender patients are vulnerable to heath care
discrimination because many health care providers like doctors and nurses lack the skills needed in transgender health (Grant et al., 2010).
There is lack of information concerning the unique needs and long-term results of transgender patients making it difficult to provide appropriate health care. This makes it hard for transgender patients to disclose the gender identity. In heath care provision, transgender patients face several barriers like transition history and lack of appropriate care, hostile environment, and denial of health care services because of discrimination and lack of respect, which is against the provisions in Patient’s bill of rights that requires every patient to have considerate and respectful care.
The patient’s right that would overcome these barriers is introducing the right gender to identity in patient care by drafting concrete guidelines for health care institutions including adoption of gender-neutral facilities like bathrooms and heath records, use of appropriate language and respect for transgender patients. Having historical records will provide information to doctors on the treatment of transgender patients.
Use of appropriate language and respect would make it easy for transgender patients to reveal their gender identity (Grant et al., 2010). Another way of overcoming these barriers is redefining the current heath care system in a manner that patient care is not linked to sex but also it considers gender identity. In short, the main aim of this bill would be to recognize the right to gender identity in patient care.
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