Background: There is a paucity of information on the perception of patients about ethical issues in medical practice.
Aim: To determine the type and frequency of ethical problems perceived by patients hospitalized in public and private hospitals.
Material and methods: Eighty eight subjects aged 65 years (48% women), admitted to a public hospital and 44 subjects aged 59 years (52% women) admitted to a private clinic answered a survey about ethical problems. The main issues covered were medical information management, participation in decision making and intimacy of patients.
Results: Fifty three percent of patients perceived at least one ethical problem. Patients admitted to the public hospital perceived more communication and intimacy problems than their peers admitted to a private clinic.
Conclusions: Approximately half of the interviewed patients acknowledged the presence of ethical problems, especially in the communication and intimacy areas).