ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS REGULATING THE PROTECTION OF PATIENTS' RIGHTS IN CONTEMPORARY REALITIES

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of international instruments regulating the protection of patients' rights within the modern healthcare context. Particular emphasis is placed on international legal and ethical standards enshrining patients' rights to health, dignity, informed consent, confidentiality of medical information, access to information regarding health status, safety of medical care, and effective remedies for violations of these rights. The importance of universal and regional instruments is considered, including normative acts of the World Health Organization, the Council of Europe, the European Union, as well as international standards in the fields of bioethics, personal data protection, and digital health. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the digitalization of medical services on the scope of patients' rights, especially in the context of electronic medical records, telemedicine, biobanks, genetic databases, and artificial intelligence. The necessity to reconsider traditional guarantees of patients' rights is substantiated in view of emerging digital risks related to unauthorized access to medical data, secondary use of information, algorithmic discrimination, and diminished transparency in medical decision-making. The author concludes that a new international legal framework for the protection of patients' digital rights is being formed, founded on the respect for personal autonomy, human dignity, the safety of healthcare provision, and the adequate protection of medical data.