La Haute Autorité de santé, un acteur du développement des droits des usagers ?

Abstract

The Health High Authority has produced numerous publications on users’ rights, which we will analyse to see whether they contribute to the development of these rights. The first area is respect for fundamental human rights. In the healthcare sector, this mainly concerns dignity, privacy and confidentiality, freedom of movement and the promotion of good treatment: the HAS deals with almost all the fundamental rights recognised to patients, making it possible to check, at least in theory, that these rights are respected during care. In the medico-social and social sector, the fundamental rights of users are satisfactorily taken into account, but the wording is sometimes vague and abstract, which could prevent these rights from being applied in practice. The second priority is to make users real players in their own care. In the healthcare sector, the HAS has drawn up a detailed overview of rights, with patient information, involvement and consent occupying a central place. In the medico-social and social sector, the HAS promotes the empowerment of supported persons, in particular through the involvement of users in the construction of their support project. The HAS appears to be more of a player in disseminating knowledge of rights, and will have to take care to erase the impression of a ‘catalogue’ of rights by referring to values and ethical principles.