LECTURE # 2

Health Care as a Human Right and its Content

CHERNIVTSI LAW SCHOOL Doctor of Law Liubov Zamorska

1. Correlation of basic moral, legal
and medical human rights.
2. The concept and structure of
the human right to health care
with the legislation of Ukraine.
3. The human right to medical
information about a state of
health: general characteristics
and legal provision.
4. The human right to medical
secrecy about one's state of
health: general characteristics
and legal provision.
5. The human right to privacy in
sphere of health care.
 As human beings, our health and the health of those we care about is a matter of
daily concern. Regardless of our age, gender, socio-economic or ethnic background, we
consider our health to be our most basic and essential asset. Ill health, on the other
hand, can keep us from going to school or to work, from attending to our family
responsibilities or from participating fully in the activities of our community. By the
same token, we are willing to make many sacrifices if only that would guarantee us and
our families a longer and healthier life. In short, when we talk about well-being, health is
often what we have in mind.

Characteristics of modern human rights include:

they are rights of individuals;
these rights inhere in individuals because they are human;
they apply to all people around the world, and they principally
involve the relationship between the state and the individual.
 2. The concept and structure of the human right to
health care
Since the late 1940s, human rights advocacy and related challenges have gradually
extended the boundaries of the human rights movement in four related ways.

the initial
advocacy focus the twin
fundamental, transnational business,
on civil and challenges of
wider social may strongly influence
political rights human rights
involvement and the capacity for
and certain realization of rights, yet promotion and
participation in
economic and they may elude state protection
human rights
social rights control

Despite tremendous controversy, especially regarding the philosophical and

cultural context of human rights as currently defined, a vocabulary and set
of human rights norms is increasingly becoming part of community,
national and global life.
3. The human right to medical information about a state of health:
general characteristics and legal provision.

A Provisional Framework

the impact (positive and negative) of

health poli- cies, programs and practices
on human rights will be considered

is based on the understanding that

human rights violations have health
impacts

is based on an overarching proposition:

that promotion and protection of human
rights and promotion and protection of
health are fundamentally linked
4. The human right to medical secrecy about one's state of health:
general characteristics and legal provision.

The “Fundamentals of Health Care Legislation” of

Ukraine stipulate that “the patient has the right to
confidentiality of information concerning his/her
health condition, his/her seeking medical help and
of information obtained in the course of medical
examination”

In many instances, however, the medical institutions still write down confidential
information in sick-leave certificates. It is done, first of all, on the request from
insurance body to spell out patient’s diagnosis. If the diagnosis is not written down in
the certificate, the insurance fills out complaints against hospitals or clinics.
Although this request is illegal, insurance company continues to pressure physicians,
and these latter, unwilling to complicate their lives, include the diagnosis in gross
violation of the law and their patients’ rights.
5. The human right to privacy in sphere of health care.

Privacy is a fundamental right, essential to

autonomy and the protection of human dignity,
serving as the foundation upon which many
other human rights are built.

The rules that protect privacy give us

the ability to assert our rights in the
face of significant power imbalances.

Protecting information gathered in association with the

care of the patient is a core value in health care. However,
respecting patient privacy in other forms is also
fundamental, as an expression of respect for patient
autonomy and a prerequisite for trust.

Patient privacy encompasses a number of aspects,

including personal space (physical privacy), personal
data (informational privacy), personal choices including
cultural and religious affiliations (decisional privacy),
and personal relationships with family members and
other intimates (associational privacy).
 CONCLUSION
Thus far, different philosophical and historical roots, disciplinary
differences in language and approach, and practical barriers to
collaboration impede recognition of important linkages between health
and human rights. The mutually enriching combination of research,
education and field experience will advance understanding and catalyse
further action around human rights and health. Exploration of the
intersection of health and human rights may help revitalize the health
field as well as contribute to broadening human rights thinking and
practice. The health and human rights perspective offers new avenues for
understanding and advancing human well-being in the modern world.