Protection of patient’s rights is one of the priorities of the Legal Aid Service. 

The Legal Aid Service offers free legal consultations in order to ensure protection of rights of patients. They are entitled to use person-to-person and telephone/online consultation services. Legal Aid Service provides legal assistance on disputes of patient’s rights to an insolvent person whose case falls into the category of complex and important cases.

Patients or their legal representatives are entitled to apply to a court and demand:

• Compensation resulted from violation of patient rights; medical malpractice, other malfunctions of a medical institution, improper regulation by the State;
• Suspension or revocation of the license of medical personnel;
• Protection/change of medical and sanitary standards;
• Medical care shall be equally available for all; the advantage shall be given to a patient according to the medical condition;
• Information related to circumstances that deteriorates or improves his/her condition;
• access medical records and require making changes;
• Information related to resources of medical care and costs;
• Information related to results of medical examination; 
• Information related to alternatives to medical care, associated risks and possible benefits;
• Information related to expected consequences in the case of refusal to receive the medical care; 
• Information related to diagnosis and possible prognosis, or current treatment; 
• Information related to identity and professional experience of medical care providers.
• Information shall be provided taking into consideration their abilities of perception. Explanations shall be made with minimal usage of special terminology.
• Decide whether or not to allow anyone to receive information about their health status.
• To refuse receipt of medical care at any stage of treatment;
• Express in advance their will (consent or refusal) in writing about the provision of, life support or treatment and/or care if they lose consciousness or become unable to make conscious decision, if such conditions is caused by  incurable disease;
• Pregnant and nursing mothers may receive full, timely and clear information from medical care providers about direct or indirect negative effects of any planned medical intervention on a fetus (Women in labor may not refuse medical care that ensures the birth of a living fetus).
• Minor patients may receive information about their health status and treatment. The information provided shall correspond to their age and level of mental development.
• Members of the military services, conscripts and contract servicemen may request and undergo independent medical examinations to determine their health status.
• Medical care for persons placed in penitentiary institutions shall be provided through state medical programs;
• All citizens are entitled to give consent or refuse in writing donation of organs both during lives and after the deaths;
• Can be voluntary donor of blood and blood components (donation of blood and blood components is permitted from the donors who are from 18 up to 65 years old).

Medical care provider is obliged to protect the following requirements:

• The information about the health status of a patient may be withheld if there is a reasonable belief that knowledge of full information will seriously affect the health of a patient.
• The informed consent of a patient or legal representative during the medical care is mandatory; 
• Patients who are incapacitated or unable to make conscious decisions and needs urgent medical care, but when a relative or a legal representative of the patient cannot be found or refuses to receive medical care, medical care provider shall make the decision taking into consideration the health interests of the patient.
• An informed consent of a patient shall be necessary in order to use him/her or his/her medical results as a subject for study.
• Medical care providers shall be obligated to protect the confidentiality of information held by them about patients both during patients’ lives and after the patients’ deaths.
• Medical care providers may disclose confidential information about the patient only in cases determined by the law, in case if the non-disclosure of information poses a risk to the life and/or health of third persons;
• Discrimination of a person due to his/her genetic heritage or gender is prohibited.

State Obligations to healthcare of citizens:

• Ensures secure environment for health care;
• Controls the issues regulating possession and transportation of especially dangerous pathogens and substances;
• Controls dissemination of congenital and endemic disease;
• Ensures organization and access to preventive immunization;
• Support the provision of medical and social assistance for persons with mental illness;
• Ensure taking measures to combat tuberculosis and provides treatment;
• Take measures necessary for the prevention and treatment of hepatitis;
• Takes measures necessary to combat dissemination of HIS/AIDS and provides treatment;
• Supports protection of health of mothers and children;
• Ensures medical care in institutions for orphans, children outside of parental care, and children with physical and mental defects.

Legal Acts

• Constitution of Georgia 
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
• International Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine;
• Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine concerning Transplantation of Organs and Tissues of Human Origin
• Additional Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine, on the Prohibition of Cloning Human Beings;
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Law of Georgia on Patient’s Rights;
• Law of Georgia on Health Care;
• Law of Georgia on Public Health;
• Law of Georgia on HIV/Aids;
• Law of Georgia on Human Organ Transplants
• Law of Georgia on Legal Aid Service

Scope of Service

In the course of conducting defense on civil and/or administrative cases, the lawyer of Legal Aid Service, as the rule conducts following actions:

• Reviews the information and case materials.
• Meets with the client and provides legal advice.
• Analyzes the information related to the case, ensures the collection of evidence and submission with the court for the purpose of successful conduct of the case.
• Represents the client in court.
• Drafts legal documents related to the case – motions, claims, counterclaims, motions complaints, applications.
• Informs the client an in case of necessity his/her legal representative on the course of conduct of the case.

Terms of Use of the Service

The Legal Aid Service provides free legal assistance on the protection of patient’s rights if a patient is insolvent and  his/her case falls into the category of complex and important cases.

A person is considered to be insolvent and entitled to use legal services on state’s expense if he/she is a member of a family registered in the unified database of socially vulnerable families, whose socioeconomic index is equal or below 70 000.

In addition, person is considered to be insolvent and has right to use the legal services on the state’s expense  in case he/she is a member of a family registered in the unified database of socially vulnerable families, whose socioeconomic index is equal or below 100 000 and belongs to one of the categories listed below: 

• Member of a multi-child family with more than 3 children under age of 18;
• War and the Military Veterans;
• Person with limited capacity status under age of 18;
• Adults with significant and severe expression of disabilities;
• A person with significant, severe or moderate expression of disabilities, in case it started from childhood;
• Orphan under the age of 18;
• People displaced as a result of the aggression by The Russian Federation against Georgia;

The legal services can be provided in special circumstances to those people who are not registered in the unified database of socially vulnerable families but due to difficult social-economical condition cannot afford to cover the expenses of legal assistance. This is regulated by the Decision #27 of the Legal Aid Service Board adopted on September 9, 2015. This condition applies to the persons who belong to the following categories:

• Persons who met the criteria of insolvency and their data is available at the archives of unified database of socially vulnerable families;
• Persons whose difficult social-economical condition is proved by the certificate issued by the local self-governing institutions;
• Persons with incurable and serious disease;
• Single mother who has juvenile children;
• Person acknowledged as a victim of political repressions;
• Pensioner;
• Lawyer employed by the Legal Aid Service, his/her family member and relative;
• Family who lost bread-winner;
• Beneficiaries of the Program on Rehabilitation and Resocialization of Former Prisoners of  LEPL “Crime Prevention Center”;
• Beneficiaries of international humanitarian union “Catharsis” (Charity House).