Healthcare Rights
Your rights as a patient and healthcare recipient under Indian central law — Ayushman Bharat, emergency treatment, informed consent, mental health, disability rights, and reproductive health.
Right to Healthcare and Emergency Treatment
The right to health is not explicitly enumerated in the Indian Constitution, but the Supreme Court has interpreted it as an integral part of the right to life under Article 21.Emergency treatment — du...
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY Health Insurance
PM-JAY is the world's largest publicly funded health insurance scheme, providing coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation.Eligibility: Approximately 12...
Informed Consent in Medical Treatment
No medical procedure or surgery can be performed on a competent adult patient without their free, informed, and voluntary consent.Informed consent requires that the patient is told:The nature of the i...
Mental Health Rights
The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 is India's landmark legislation that gives persons with mental illness comprehensive rights to care and treatment.Right to access mental healthcare: Every person has th...
Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The RPWD Act, 2016 significantly expanded protection for persons with disabilities in India, covering 21 types of disabilities.Covered disabilities: Physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, and m...
Right to Access Your Medical Records
Patients have the legal right to access their own medical records, test reports, and discharge summaries.NMC Regulations 2023, Regulation 7: A doctor must provide the patient (or their legal represent...
Reproductive and Maternal Health Rights
India's central law protects women's reproductive rights, maternal health, and the unborn child against sex-selective practices.Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 (amended 2021):Terminat...
Right to Palliative Care and End-of-Life Decisions
The Supreme Court in Common Cause (2018) recognised the right of a terminally ill patient to refuse life-sustaining treatment — upholding the concept of "dying with dignity" as part of Article 21.Pass...