ปัญหาทางกฎหมายว่าด้วยการใช้สิทธิรักษาพยาบาลกรณีเจ็บป่วยฉุกเฉินวิกฤต: ศึกษากรณีโรงพยาบาลเอกชน

Abstract

Access to medical and public health services to treat critical illness is a fundamental individual right. Timely, effective treatment should be available regardless of varying economic status or other differences. Therefore, the government of Thailand formulated a policy on the right to free treatment for critical illness in all areas, enacting a law to support and enforce this right. Legal enforcement of Universal Coverage for Emergency Patient (UCEP) at private hospitals resulted in major cost problems due to potentially inappropriate compensation,in terms of extant provisions and critical illnesses still uncovered.  In addition, the mechanism for enforcing governmental punitive law remains redundant in terms of authority and form for legal penalties. A comparative study found that emergency medical laws in the United Kingdom and the United States of America provide compensation to private hospitals participating in government policies. Critical illnesses covered by medical diagnosis, as well as governmental enforcement mechanisms, differ from Thai law. These findings should help formulate guidelines for drafting a law on the right to medical treatment for critical illnesses, to create an equilibrium between priorities of private hospitals and the institutional duty to efficiently maintain public health.