Promoting patients' rights through hospital accreditation.

Discussion of the Israeli case not only demonstrates how regulatory frameworks are instrumental - for broader policy purposes, especially in the area of patients' rights and the rights of patients' families - but also calls for a more general examination of the concept of patients' rights in health policies and its contribution to the quality of health services. Reference to patients' rights in accreditation of healthcare institutions may promote and enhance this concept and contribute to the delivery of care, thereby complementing a lacuna in the law.