Patients' rights in Europe.

On the national and international level, legal instruments for the protection of the patient are developing. From the WHO-Europe study 'Trends in Health Legislation' trends regarding patients' rights on the national level in Europe are discussed. Moreover, an overview of international activities for the promotion of patients' rights is given. It is concluded that the movement towards the elaboration of patients' rights is evolving slowly and that the interaction between international and national activities in this field is unclear. As a consequence there exists underregulation of the rights of patients in Europe.