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Legal uncertainties arise during the application of the current Article 16 of the RA Law on Medical Aid and Service for Population. According to part 1 of Article, a person's written consent is considered a necessary condition for medical intervention. At the same time, part 2 of the same Article stipulates that the cases of giving written consent for medical intervention are determined by the authorized body. Misreading occurs because it is not clear for which cases the written consent is required: for all cases of medical intervention or only for cases determined by the authorized body. The RA NA deputy Emma Palyan noted.

The draft law on Making Amendments to the Law on Medical Aid and Service for Population authored by the deputies Narek Zeynalyan and Emma Palyan was debated in the first reading at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Health Care convened on September 8.

The draft proposes to clearly state that the written consent is a necessary condition for medical intervention for the cases determined by the authorized body in order to exclude interpretations, legal uncertainties and contradictions. This requirement stems from the law on Normative Legal Acts, insufficient clarity, different understanding, as well as the need to clarify the issues arising in the field of application of the normative legal act. The draft also proposes to set the condition of being in written form for the consents for medical interventions planned in some cases.

“ The authorized body will determine all the cases when in fact giving written consent by a citizen or his /her legal representative is important and mandatory to avoid further problems. In this case, the doctor will also be protected, ” Narek Zeynalyan clarified.

According to the key rapporteur, the RA Deputy Minister of Health Armen Nazaryan, the proposed amendments make the problems solvable, because it will not be possible to take written consent for all types of medical interventions in outpatient and inpatient conditions. The proposals of the Government are acceptable.

The draft was endorsed.