PATIENT’S RIGHTS

Access to Care:
Individuals shall be accorded impartial access to treatment or accommodations that are available or medically indicated, regardless of race, creed, sex, national origin, or sources of payment for care.

Respect and Dignity:
The patient has the right to considerate, respectful care at all times and under all circumstances, with recognition of his personal dignity.

Privacy and Confidentiality:
The patient has the right, within the law, to personal and informational privacy as manifested by the right to:

•  Refuse to talk with or see anyone not officially connected with the hospital, including visitors, or persons officially connected with the hospital but who are not directly involved in his care.

•  Wear appropriate personal clothing and religious or other symbolic items, so long as they do not interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatment.

• Be interviewed and examined in surroundings designed to assure reasonable audiovisual privacy.  This includes the right to have a person of one’s own sex present during certain parts of a physical evaluation, treatment, or procedure performed by a health professional of the opposite sex; and the right not to remain disrobed any longer than is required for accomplishing the medical purposes for which the patient was asked to disrobe.

• Expect that any discussion or consultation involving his case will be conducted discretely, and that individuals not directly involved in his case will be not present without his permission.

• Have his medical record read only by individuals directly involved in his treatment or the monitoring of its quality, and by other individuals only on his written authorization or that of his legally authorized representative.

• Respect all communications and other records pertaining to his care, including the source of payment for treatment, to be treated as confidential.

• Request a transfer to another room if another patient or visitors in that room are unreasonably disturbing him by smoking or other actions.

• Be placed in protective privacy when considered necessary for personal safety.

Personal Safety:
The patient has the expect reasonable safety insofar as the hospital practices and the environment are concerned.

 

Identity:
The patient has the right to know the identity and professional status of individuals providing service to him, and to know which physician or other practitioner is primarily responsible for his care.  This includes the patient’s right to know of the existence of any professional relationship to any other health care or educational institutions involved in his care.

 Participation by patients in clinical training programs or in the gathering of data for research purposes should be voluntary.

Information:
The patient has the right to obtain from the practitioner responsible for coordinating his care, complete and current information concerning his diagnosis (to the degree known), treatment, and any known prognosis.  This information should be communicated in terms the patient can reasonably be expected to understand.  When it is not medically advisable to give such information to the patient, the information should be made available to a legally authorized individual.

Communication:
The patient has the right to access to people outside the hospital by means of visitors, and by verbal and written communication.

 When the patient does not speak or understand the predominant language of the community, he should have access to an interpreter.  This is particularly true where language barriers are a continuing problem.

Consent:
The patient has the right to reasonably informed participation in decisions involving his health care.  To the degree possible, this should be based on a clear, concise explanation of his condition and of all proposed technical procedures, including the possibilities of any risk of mortality or serious side effects, problems related to recuperation, and probability of success.  The patient should not be subjected to any procedure without his voluntary, competent, and understanding consent, or that of his legally authorized representative.  Where medically significant alternatives for care or treatment exist, the patient shall be so informed.

The patient has the right to know who is responsible for authorizing and performing the procedures or treatment.

Consultation:
The patient, at his own request and expense, has the right to consult with a specialist.

Refusal of Treatment:
The patient may refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law.  When refusal of treatment by the patient of his legally authorized representative prevents the provision of appropriate care in accordance with ethical and professional standards, the relationship with the patient may be terminated upon reasonable notice.

Transfer of Continuity of Care:
A patient may not be transferred to another facility unless he has received a complete explanation of the need for the transfer and the alternatives to such a transfer, and unless the transfer is acceptable to the other facility.  The patient has the right to be informed by the responsible practitioner or his delegate of any continuing health care requirements following discharge from the hospital.

Hospital Charges:
Regardless of the source of payment for his care, the patient has the right to request and receive an itemized and detailed explanation of his total bill for services rendered in the hospital.  The patient has the right to timely notice prior to termination of his eligibility for reimbursement by any third party payor for the cost of his care.

Hospital Rules and Regulations:
The patient should be informed of the hospital rules and regulations applicable to his conduct as a patient.  Patients are entitled to information about the hospital’s mechanism for the initiation, review, and resolution of patient complaints. 

                                                                 PATIENT’S RESPONSIBILITIES

Provision of Information:
A patient has the responsibility to provide, to the best of his knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters relating to his health.  He has the responsibility to report unexpected changes in his condition to the responsible practitioner.  A patient is responsible for making it known whether he clearly comprehends a contemplated course of action and what is expected of him.

Compliance with Instruction:
A patient is responsible for following the treatment plan recommended by the practitioner primarily responsible for his care.  This may include following the instructions of nurses and allied health personnel as they carry out the coordinated plan of care and implement the responsible practitioner’s orders, and as they enforce the applicable hospital rules and regulations.  The patient is responsible for keeping appointments and, when he is unable to do so for any reason, for notifying the responsible practitioner or the hospital.

Refusal of Treatment:
The patient is responsible for his actions if he refuses treatment or does not follow the practitioner’s instructions.

 Hospital Charges:
The patient is responsible for assuring that the financial obligations of his health care are fulfilled as promptly as possible.

Hospital Rules and Regulations:
The patient is responsible for following hospital rules and regulations affecting patient care and conduct.

 Respect and Consideration:
The patient is responsible for being considerate of the rights of other patients and hospital personnel, for assisting in the control of noise, smoking, and the number of visitors.  The patient is responsible for being respectful of the property of other persons and of the hospital.