The right to freely choose a healthcare provider

Except in case of emergency, the patient is free to choose their own healthcare provider.
Thus, the patient has the right to freely choose their own:

• physician,
• hospital (except for on-call days),
• home help provider,
• pharmacy,
• physiotherapist,
• dentist, and so on.

At all times, the patient has the right to change and to consult a different healthcare provider – for example, to obtain a second opinion.

However, from a practical standpoint, the choice may be limited. In particular, in a hospital, the way in which services are organised means that the choice is limited to healthcare professionals certified by that establishment.

For their part, the healthcare provider has the right to refuse to treat a patient for personal or professional reasons, except in case of emergency. They may not refuse treatment on the basis of discriminatory views. If they do refuse to treat the patient, the healthcare professional is still required to administer first aid in an emergency, and to ensure the patient’s care is taken over by another professional.