Patient rights and information

Access to medical records

Article L.111-7 of the French Public Health Code and the Order of 5 March 2004, amended by the Order of 3 January 2007.

Under certain conditions laid down by law, you may have direct access to medical information concerning you. Requests must be made in writing and addressed to the Director:

By yourself, or in certain cases, by the following persons:

• The person with parental authority if this concerns you (you then have the possibility of objecting to this request, by writing to the doctor) or by your guardian if this concerns you
• Your beneficiary in the event of your death (in which case the reason for the request must be specified) or by your doctor who has been designated as an intermediary by one of the above persons.

This request must specify the medical service concerned and the dates of hospitalisation. You must provide a copy of both sides of a valid identity document.

The establishment, via the doctor who treated you, will give you access to this information within 8 days if your medical file was opened less than 5 years ago, or within 2 months if your medical file was opened more than 5 years ago.

You can choose to :

• Come and consult the information on the spot, possibly with copies given to you (you will have to pay for the copies). You will then be informed of the medical support system provided for by law.
• Or request that copies of the documents be sent to you (you will be responsible for the cost of copies and postage).

You can download the form to complete and enclose with your request.

For more information, you can download the Ministry's information leaflet.

Person of trust

In application of law no. 2002-303 of 04 March 2002 on patients' rights and the quality of the healthcare system, you have the option of appointing a trusted support person.

Your trusted support person can be very useful to you:

• To accompany you in all the steps you take and to attend your medical appointments: this person may be able to help you make decisions.
• In the event that your state of health does not allow you to give your opinion or communicate your decisions: the doctor or, in the event of hospitalisation, the team taking care of you, will give priority to consulting the trusted support person you have designated. The advice obtained from the trusted support person will guide the doctor in making his or her decisions.

For more information, you can download the Ministry's information leaflet.

Advance directives

Any adult may, if they so wish, make a written statement, known as "advance directives", setting out their wishes regarding the end of their life, in the event that they are unable to express their wishes at that time.

For more information, you can download the Ministry's information leaflet or the HAS collection tool.

Computerisation of data

Your hospitalisation entails the recording and processing of administrative and medical data concerning you.

You have the right to object, for legitimate reasons, to the collection and processing of your personal data, under the conditions set out in article 38 of the law of 6 January 1998. This right of objection may only be exercised insofar as the processing of personal data in question does not comply with a legal obligation. This computer file is registered with the C.N.I.L. (Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés) and is subject to total confidentiality, in accordance with the French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978.

Consequently, if you have a complaint, you can refer it to the CRU by expressing it orally or in writing to the Quality and Risk Management Department (04 91 23 44 85 or raq.juge@almaviva-sante.com).

In-patient charter

The Hospitalised Patients' Charter is an update of the 1995 Hospitalised Patients' Charter, made necessary by changes in legislation, in particular the laws of 4 March 2002 on patients' rights and the quality of the healthcare system, 6 August 2004 on bioethics, 9 August 2004 on public health policy and 22 April 2005 on patients' rights and the end of life.

You can consult it here.

Consent

No medical procedure or treatment may be carried out without your free and informed consent.
After giving you full information, healthcare professionals will ask you to sign a consent document for the care, examinations or treatment prescribed.

Information and therapeutic education

The increase in the number of chronic illnesses is leading to the heterogeneous development of therapeutic education practices. These range from simple learning of technical procedures to structured programmes over several years run by multidisciplinary teams. These practices are now governed by the "Hospital, Patients, Health and Territories" (HPST) law, in order to guarantee their quality.

The regional health agencies (ARS) are responsible for granting authorisations in accordance with specifications that meet the quality criteria of the French National Authority for Health.

The aim of therapeutic education is to help patients understand their disease and treatment , so as to limit complications, reduce the risk of recurrence and maintain a good quality of life. It aims to empower patients.

You can find a list of authorised workshops in the PACA regionhere.

The Clinique Juge is a member of various networks offering therapeutic education workshops: Marseille Diabetes, Asthma and Allergy.

Guide to users' rights and duties

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Human Rights Ombudsman have published a guide to the rights of healthcare users.

This practical guide, entitled "Users, your health, your rights", is made up of 26 easy-to-read factsheets covering the main areas of healthcare provision.

ARS Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur promotes the rights and duties of users in the health and medico-social sectors, and each month publishes a special feature on its website highlighting "the right of the month" and the duties that go with it.