The Right to health protection
ENLithuanian health care system becomes oriented towards the citizens-patients being aware of their rights, implementing them and looking for the legal protection of the violated ones. The latter gradually becomes the focus of the attention. It should be mentioned that the rights of patients, on the whole, could be grouped into two different categories: individual and social. The first rights of the patient are related to the protection of his freedom and private life. Very often the right to health care is acknowledged as the most important out of the specified group of the rights of the patients that is moreover divided into the right to the protection and care of health as well as the right to access the healthcare services. The implementation of the mentioned individual and social rights of the patient as well as difficulties related thereto are analyzed in the present Chapter. As the right to health care is attributed to the positive rights that mean the obligation for the state to take active measures in formation of the proper conditions, seeking for the highest possible level of health and maintaining it, the problems of implementation of constitutional obligations of the state in the field of health care of people are being emphasized. It should be noted that the health care system cannot function for its good, only by creating and solving the problems that are important only for it – it should turn to the patient and form such society where the healthcare and commercial interests would be preceded by the health. The legal analysis of the situation on the implementation of the rights of the patients is impeded by the correlation of the health problems of the patients with the common Lithuanian social-economic problems.The annual report of the National Health Council, also the Council activity report of 01-01-2004 – 31-12-2004, state that “it is evident that the common Lithuanian social-economic problems – unemployment level, comparatively low income of people, huge unevenness of Lithuanian and the EU economy, low purchasing power and others – influence the healthcare problems”. Thinking of this topic, the opinion of the society itself becomes important. According to the data of the representative survey of people, carried on 11–14 November 2004, by the market and opinion research center “Vilmorus”, the number of people assessing the protection of the right to the timely and qualitative medical aid in Lithuania as bad or very bad remains bigger (36.7 % of the interviewed) than the number of those assessing the situation as good or very good (24.6 % of the interviewed). The emerged contradiction that the respondents rely on the healthcare system, however, the right to the timely and qualitative medical aid, in their opinion, is not safeguarded, is explained by the understanding of people how weak is the material base of the healthcare system. However, there is still trust in doctors themselves (that is one of the most respected professions in Lithuania) [p. 157-158].
