The bills were elaborated by Minister of Health Slavica Djukic Dejanovic. She stated that the Bill on Patients’ Rights results from the need to regulate all the rights of patients uniformly, in a single law, as well as the obligation to harmonise Serbian laws with European legislation. Besides the rights regulated by the existing law, the Bill contains new rights guaranteed to the patients such as the right to preventive measures, right to patient safety, right to information, right to confidentiality of information about the patient’s health status, right to relief of suffering and pain and others.
The Bill on Protection of Persons with Mental Health Problems, the Minister explained, defines the rights of persons with mental health problems, treatment conditions and placement of said persons without consent in stationary and other institutions, as well as the limitation of rights of persons with mental health problems.
Following a debate on the proposed legislation, the Committee members decide to accept the Bill on Patients’ Rights and the Bill on Protection of Persons with Mental Health Problems, in principle.
In addition to the Committee members, the sitting was attended by representatives of the Serbian Health Council, Republic Health Insurance Fund, Serbian Medical Chamber, Serbian Medical Society, representatives of UNICEF and OSCE, the World Health Organisation Serbia Office in Belgrade and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Rodoljub Sabic. The Committee sitting was also attended by civic association representatives who discussed the bills with the Committee members, pointing out the flaws in the implementation of certain healthcare laws.

The sitting was chaired by Prof. Dr Dusan Milisavljevic, Committee Chairman.