RIYADH – Doctors have no right to refuse treatment to patients for any reason, the Health Ministry has said after reports of several such incidents across the Kingdom were brought to its notice. "This is what the etiquette of healthcare profession teaches doctors and other practitioners in the sector," the ministry said in a statement carried by Al-Watan Arabic daily. The ministry said there are 20 articles in the etiquette of the profession, which all health practitioners must follow without failure while dealing with patients. "There is also a charter of professional ethics that a doctor should follow while treating patients," said a medical source. "They should not deviate from this ethics while dealing with patients and colleagues, other professionals and society as a whole," he added. He said hospitals should have a policy based on this charter and all healthcare professionals should abide by these principles and treat patients with respect. "A doctor should introduce himself while meeting a patient and should set a good example to the patient as well as those who work with him or her," the source said. The quality and standard of medical treatment and healthcare should not change based on the personality, religion, social status and race of the patient or any other factor. "It's the duty of a doctor to provide equal treatment to all patients," he added. Doctors should keep pace of new developments in the profession to provide better care and treatment to patients. They are supposed to attend training courses, establish contacts with other professionals in the discipline to exchange knowledge and expertise and learn new things in the field. Doctors should not discuss about the condition of patients with other doctors or practitioners in public places within or outside hospitals and also in the presence of other patients. They should handle all medical documents of a patient confidentially, especially those documents that may be required for legal proceedings. They should not disclose any confidential information about a patient except when the patient's condition demands it, the ministry said.
