Health law is a branch of law that is generally considered in conjunction with the concept of “patient rights”. Although the concept of “patient rights” began to be discussed in legal and medical circles in the 1970s, it was incorporated into our legislation through the Patient Rights Regulation published by the Ministry of Health in 1998. The concept of patient rights encompasses issues such as ensuring patients are informed, guaranteeing access to healthcare in a manner befitting human dignity, and the protection of personal rights. Disputes arising in this field generally occur between those providing healthcare services and those receiving them. As doctors, by virtue of their duties, carry out actions involving intervention in bodily integrity, their duties and responsibilities occupy a significant place within the scope of Medical Law. Doctors may face both criminal and civil (compensation) liability for actions they undertake that contravene the legislation. Doctors are liable not only for wrongful acts committed intentionally but also for those committed through negligence (failure to fulfil professional duties or breach of the duty of care).
In addition to the liability of medical practitioners, the liability of private healthcare institutions and the public authorities may also be invoked in respect of harm suffered by patients. Given that healthcare is a public service, the public authorities bear liability arising from service defects by virtue of their duties and obligations regarding the provision of healthcare; however, in the present day, the public authorities’ strict liability is also applied across a wide range of areas in accordance with judicial precedent.
Whilst healthcare law, in the narrow sense, refers to patients’ rights, in the broader sense it also encompasses matters such as the rights of healthcare workers, the administrative, criminal and civil liabilities of doctors, disputes arising between private healthcare institutions and the authorities, and regulations established within the framework of healthcare legislation.& nbsp; Whilst specific regulations regarding doctors’ liabilities are limited in our legislation, the general provisions of the Turkish Penal Code and the Turkish Code of Obligations find application in determining doctors’ liabilities. Developments in technology and the field of medicine have also brought doctors’ ethical responsibilities to the fore in relation to the duties they perform. Ethics Committees established within various institutions make decisions regarding the appropriateness of proposed medical studies. These decisions are of significant importance in terms of evaluating the practices and studies conducted. It is also recognised that proposed medical research and studies may, at times, be of a nature that infringes upon patients’ personal rights, and that this may give rise to liability on the part of the doctors conducting the work and the healthcare institutions to which they are affiliated.