HPCA focuses on terminally ill patients only, and Patient Right to Autonomy Act focuses on the medical right of every citizen in all medical circumstances.
Currently, HPCA does not provide a sound protection to the patient’s right to know, to choose, and to decide. Furthermore, both the Medical Care Act and HPCA state “If a terminally ill patient, who has become unconscious or failed to express his/her will clearly, has not signed the letter of intent … his/her close relative may replace the patient’s will by signing a consent form”. Thus, the signed consent form is not necessarily the patient’s will.
In contrast, Patient Right to Autonomy Act legislation will protect the patient’s right to know, to choose and to decide, even if the patient falls into a coma and is unable to clearly express his/her will; thus, the patient’s will is still being carried out.