Research The citizens do not know their rights as patients   More than 65% of the Macedonian citizens have not asked for their rights as patients, thinking they cannot realize them; about 18 % believe they can realize them in case they need it, and only about 10 percent have realized them in certain cases. These were the results of the of the research on the project “Patients in Macedonia have the right to European Standards”, supported by FIOOM and implemented by MIA – Association for health care dedication and promotion of the health care. “Eighty two percent of the questioned think they need to realize their rights, 56 % of them do not know what their rights are, while 10 % are completely ignorant of the fact they have them”, says MIA’s president, Vesna Velik – Stefanovska. According to the research, about half of the questioned are not satisfied at all with they health care they get, and the health services have always been available to only 17.7% of them %. “The general opinion of over 70% of the questioned is that the health protection is not always adjusted to the patients’ needs. About 60% of the patients said that they were allowed access to their personal medical information only at certain occasions, while 20% have never got them”, considers Velik – Stefanovska. She emphasizes that this problem needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. As a possible solution she mentioned the establishment of an ombudsman in each health organization who would assume the role of mediator in the communication between the patients and the doctors.   Z.G.