Section 1: Service providers and equipment distributors

The service provider and the equipment distributor act in all circumstances in the interests of the person who is ill or has an incapacity or disability. They shall respect the dignity and privacy of the patient and his or her family. They respect the choices of this person and those around them.

The provider of services and the distributor of equipment shall treat the person who is ill or suffering from an incapacity or disability with the same conscientiousness, without discrimination and without seeking to exploit that person’s trust for personal or financial gain. They are prohibited from any practice that might compromise the independence of the medical team in charge of the sick or disabled person with regard to their freedom…

Service providers and equipment distributors shall respect the right of persons who are ill or who have an incapacity or disability to consult the healthcare professional of their choice. They are prohibited from slandering a healthcare professional, casting aspersions on him or her or echoing comments likely to harm him or her in the exercise of his or her profession. They will only deliver categories of equipment of which they…

When the person who is ill or who has an incapacity or disability is cared for by the multidisciplinary team, the service provider and the equipment distributor will cooperate with the members of this team in the interests of the person and their relatives.

Service providers and equipment distributors are bound by professional secrecy. Secrecy covers not only what has been entrusted to them, but also what they have seen, read, heard, observed or understood. The service provider and the equipment distributor shall instruct all their employees in their obligations with regard to professional secrecy and shall ensure that they comply with them.

Service providers and equipment distributors update their professional knowledge and keep abreast of developments in best practice, legislation and regulations.