Skip to content

Where are you from?

Choose your province and we will tell you how the deputies and senators you elected vote, one by one.

 

We remember it in this browser. If you create an account, we keep it there.
Sign in

Type a law, a topic, a person or a province.

What it is

Patient rights over their health information and medical records

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 16 April 2001. Introduced by: Senado.

Official title: Private member's bill for a basic Law regulating patient autonomy and rights and obligations in matters of clinical information and documentation.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 124/000002· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law regulates the rights and duties of patients, professionals, and public and private health centers regarding patient autonomy, clinical information, and clinical documentation.
  2. As a general rule, any health care action requires the patient's consent after receiving adequate information. Consent must be given in writing in cases such as surgery or risky procedures, and the patient can revoke it in writing at any time.
  3. Patients have the right to know all available information about any action affecting their health, in understandable terms, and also the right not to be informed if they wish. In exceptional cases, the doctor may withhold information if knowing their situation would seriously harm their health.
  4. An adult may leave written advance instructions about future health care and treatments, or about what happens to their body after death, and may revoke them freely at any time. A national registry will be created to ensure they are valid throughout the country.
  5. Health centers must keep medical records for at least five years from discharge for each care process, guarantee their security, and allow patients to access them and get copies, with limits to protect the confidentiality of third parties and professionals' subjective notes.
  6. When care ends, the patient has the right to receive a discharge report, and also to get certificates proving their state of health. If the patient refuses the prescribed treatment, they may sign a voluntary discharge, or the center may order a forced discharge.

Who it affects

  • Patients and users of health services: They gain clear rights to information, consent, privacy, and access to their medical records.
  • Health care professionals: They must inform patients, document care, respect patient decisions, and keep data confidential.
  • Public and private health centers and services: They must keep clinical records safe, guarantee confidentiality, and provide reports and certificates.
  • People with disabilities: Public authorities must issue rules to guarantee their rights to autonomy and information.

Words worth knowing

Consentimiento informado (informed consent)
The patient's free and conscious agreement to a health care action, after receiving adequate information.
Historia clínica (medical record)
The set of documents containing a patient's health data and progress during their care.
Instrucciones previas (advance instructions)
A document in which a person states in advance what care they want if they become unable to decide for themselves.
Necesidad terapéutica (therapeutic need)
A case where the doctor may withhold information from the patient if knowing it could seriously harm their health.
Lex artis
The professional practices and standards accepted as correct in medicine at any given time.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced16 April 2001Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted24 April 2001The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments27 April 2001Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee25 September 2001A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenary12 June 2002All 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate20 June 2002The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE31 October 2002It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 9 official steps on a timeline
Jun 2001Sept 2001Dec 2001Mar 2002Jun 2002Sept 200211. 16 April 2001: Presentación22. 24 April 2001: Comisión de Sanidad y Consumo Publicación desde 24/04/2001 hasta 27/04/200133. 24 April 2001: Calificación44. 27 April 2001: Comisión de Sanidad y Consumo Enmiendas desde 27/04/2001 hasta 25/09/200155. 25 September 2001: Comisión de Sanidad y Consumo Informe desde 25/09/2001 hasta 29/05/200266. 29 May 2002: Comisión de Sanidad y Consumo Dictamen desde 29/05/2002 hasta 12/06/200277. 12 June 2002: Pleno Aprobación desde 12/06/2002 hasta 20/06/200288. 20 June 2002: Senado desde 20/06/2002 hasta 31/10/200299. 31 October 2002: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 31/10/2002 hasta 26/11/2002

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Law 41/2002, of November 14, basic law regulating patient autonomy and rights and obligations in matters of clinical information and documentation.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

Read the full method · Report an error