Bioethical principles and health-care services users’ rights

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.200630.3.9

Abstract

In health services, especially in a hospital setting, the habit of using a terminology rich in complicated vocabulary with
neologisms and jargon typical of the hospital setting is very common in the communication between professionals and patients, guar-
dians and relatives and in many cases reflect intentions of exercising power and dominion. Health professionals, imbued with the
capacity of curing, have special prestige and status which if denied may lead to a power abuse, characterized by threat sensations when
their opinions are questioned and by unilateral decisions on what is considered best for the patient, without a broader discussion about
the patient’s conditions and options. Nursing, as part of the health-care system, has an important role on reflecting about these
questions, aiming to grant to all health-service users the guarantee of an equitable care providing. Based on these reflections, the
proposal of the present study is to analyze the law on health-service users’ rights and health policies in São Paulo State, as well as aspects
of ethical questions like autonomy, beneficence, justice, respect for liberty and for the value of human life.