Rights of the hospital patients: knowledge and perception by the staff

Background. The Customer Service Department includes the protection of the patient's rights. To analyze the work performed in this setting, we planned to quantitate and evaluate the knowledge and perception of fulfillment by medical staff. Methods. Multicentric cross-sectional study. The population included health care professionals in nine catalonian hospitals. The sample was selected a t random with reposition and was segmented according to professional catego ry. Data collection was carried out by personal interview supported by a qu estionnaire. Differences according to institution size were analyzed. Results. A total of 1,014 professionals were interviewed; 84.4% reported to know the patient's rights and 64.4% to observe them. Significant differenc es (p < 0.05) according to institution size were observed. Conclusions. Discussion and diffusion of patient's rights is an useful tool to improve knowledge and evaluate the perception of its fulfillment by hea lth care professionals.