The 5-Axis Patient Rights Charter in Iran is a landmark document that outlines the fundamental rights of patients in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is based on the principles of human dignity, equality, and access to quality healthcare.

The vision and values of each member of society are committed to preserving and respecting the dignity of human beings. This is especially important in the condition of illness. According to the constitution, paying attention to human dignity is one of the basic principles of the Islamic Republic system, and the government is obliged to provide health and treatment services for each and every person in the country. Based on this, the provision of health services should be fair and based on respect for the rights and human dignity of patients.

1. Is appropriate to the dignity and status of human beings and respectful of values, and cultural and religious beliefs.
2. Is based on honesty, fairness, courtesy, and kindness.
3. Is free from any discrimination, including ethnic, cultural, religious, type of illness, and gender.
4. Is based on the latest knowledge.
5. Is based on the superiority of the patient’s interests.
6. The distribution of health resources is based on justice and the therapeutic priorities of patients.
7. Is based on the coordination of the pillars of care, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.
8. It should be along with providing all basic and essential amenities and away from imposing pain, suffering, and unnecessary restrictions.
9. It must pay special attention to the rights of vulnerable groups in society, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, the mentally ill, prisoners, the mentally and physically disabled, and the unsupervised people.
10. It has to be done in the shortest possible time and with respect for the patient’s time.
11. It is essential to consider variables such as language, age, and gender of service recipients.

• The provisions of the Patient Rights Charter at the time of admission.
• Hospital regulations and expected costs, including medical and non-medical services, insurance regulations, and introduction of support systems at the time of admission.
• The name, responsibility, and professional rank of the members of the medical team responsible for providing care, including doctors, nurses, and students, and their professional relationship with each other.
• Diagnostic and therapeutic methods, strengths and weaknesses of each method, potential complications, diagnosis of the disease, prognosis, and its complications, as well as all information that affects the patient’s decision-making process.
• How to access the treating physician and the main members of the medical team during treatment.
• All measures that have a research nature.
• Providing essential training for the continuation of treatment.
  The method of providing information should be as follows:

Information have to be provided in a timely manner and in accordance with the patient’s condition, including anxiety, pain, and individual characteristics such as language, education, and comprehension ability, unless:

1. Choosing a treating physician and a health care provider within the framework of regulations.
2. Choosing and consulting with a second physician as a consultant.
3. Participating or not participating in biological research with the assurance that his or her decision will not affect the continuity and manner of receiving health care.
4. Accepting or rejecting proposed treatments after being aware of the potential consequences of accepting or rejecting them, except in cases of suicide or in cases where refusing treatment puts another person at serious risk.
5. The patient’s prior opinion about future medical interventions, when the patient is capable of decision making, should be recorded and considered as a guide for medical interventions in the event of loss of decision making capacity, in accordance with legal regulations, by health care providers and the patient’s substitute decision maker.

The conditions for choice and decision making include the following:

1. The patient’s choice and decision-making must be free and informed, based on the receipt of adequate and comprehensive information (mentioned in paragraph two).
2. After providing the information, sufficient time should be given to the patient for decision-making and selection.

1. Every patient has the right to complain to the competent authorities without disrupting the quality of receiving health care if they claim that their rights, which are the subject of this charter, have been violated.
2. Patients have the right to be informed of the progress and results of their complaints.
3. Damage caused by the negligence of health care providers must be compensated in the shortest possible time after investigation and proof in accordance with regulations.