Patient Rights and Responsibilities

Quality of Care and Decision Making

You have a right to:

• An interpreter when you do not speak English and an interpreter is available;
• Be informed of the facility’s policies regarding your rights during the admission pro-cess;
• Not to be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or age;
• Care and treatment, in compliance with state statute and consistent with sound and quality nursing and medical practices, that is competent and respectful, recognizes a person’s dignity, cultural values and religious beliefs, and provides for per-sonal privacy to the extent possible during the course of treatment;
• A reasonable response to your requests and needs for treatment or service, within the hospital’s capacity, its stated mission, and applicable law and regulation and to have your care, treatment, and service needs met and receive care in a safe setting;
• Be informed of your health status, including full information in laymen’s terms, concerning your condition and diagnosis, proposed treatment and prognosis, including information about alternative treatments and possible complications;
• Participate in all decisions regarding the development and implementation of your plan of care;
• Make informed decisions regarding your care;
• Know names, professional status, and experience of the staff providing care or treatment to the patient;
• Be informed of the name, business telephone number and business address of the person supervising your services and how to contact that person;
• Choose the participating physician responsible for coordinating your care;
• Request or refuse treatment, drug, test, or procedure, and be informed of the risks and benefits of your request or refusal;
• Except for emergencies, to give informed consent prior to the start of any procedure or treatment, or both, and to have care implemented without unnecessary de-lay;
• Be promptly and fully informed of any changes in your plan of service;
• Be free of all forms of neglect, abuse (physical or mental), corporal punishment, or harassments;
• Be free from restraint or seclusion, of any form, imposed as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by staff; and
• Formulate advance directives and to have hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital comply with these directives;
• Appoint a surrogate to make health care decisions on your behalf to the extent permitted by law;
• Have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital;
• Know whether referrals to other providers are entities in which we have a financial interest;
• Know whether the health care entity is participating in teaching programs;
• Receive an explanation of the nature and possible consequences of any research or experimental procedure before the research or experiment is conducted and provide prior informed consent and to refuse to participate;
• Be advised when a physician is considering you as a part of a medical care research program or donor program, to give informed consent prior to actual participation in such a program, and to, at any time, refuse to continue in any such program;
• Provide informed consent prior to being included in any clinical trials relating to your care;
• Have your property treated with respect;
• Assistance in obtaining consultation with another physician or practitioner at your request and expense;
• Not be denied the right of access to an individual or agency who is authorized to act on your behalf to assert or protect your rights;
• If you are an Illinois patient:
  • visitation by any person or persons designated by you who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and who is allowed rights of visitation unless: (i) the facility does not allow any visitation for a patient, or (ii) the facility or your physician determines that visitation would endanger your or your visitor’s physical health or safety or would interfere with the operations of the facility; and
  • timely, prior notice of the termination of such policy or plan in the event an insurance company or health services corporation or health care plan cancels or refuses to renew an individual policy or plan or enrollee’s participation in plan;
• If you are a North Carolina patient:
  • medical and nursing treatment that avoids unnecessary physical and mental discomfort and to be free from duplication of medical and nursing procedures as determined by the attending physician;
  • designate visitors who will receive the same visitation privileges as your immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to you;
  • not be awakened by hospital staff unless it is medically necessary;
  • when medically permissible, be transferred to another facility upon request; and
  • be informed upon discharge of your continuing health care requirements following discharge and the means for meeting them.
• If you are a Colorado patient:
  • Request an in-network healthcare provider provide services at an innetwork facility or agency, if available.

Finances

You have a right to:

• Receive, upon request and prior to initiation of care or treatment, estimated average charges for non-emergent care, including deductibles and copayments that would not be covered by a third-party payer based on the coverage information supplied by you or your representative;
• Receive our general billing procedures;
• Regardless of source of payment, to examine and to receive a reasonable explanation of your total bill for health care services rendered by your physician or other health care provider, including the itemized charges for specific health care services received; and
• If you are a Colorado or Georgia patient, receive within ten (10) business days of your request or thirty (30) days after your discharge or after service is rendered (whichever is later) an itemized bill that has a telephone number for billing inquiries and identifies the treatment and services by date that will enable you to validate the charges; and
• If you are a North Carolina patient, full information and counseling on the availability of known financial resources for your health care.

Privacy and Confidentiality

You have a right to:

• Personal privacy and confidentiality in health care (may be waived in writing);
• Confidentiality of your clinical records except as otherwise provided by law; and
• Access to information contained in your clinical records within a reasonable time frame.

Grievances

You have a right to:

• Be informed of the complaint procedures and the right to submit complaints, either orally or in writing, without fear of discrimination or retaliation and to have them investigated by your provider within a reasonable period of time;
• Be given the name, business address and telephone number of the person that will handle any complaints or questions about services being delivered to you;
• If you are a Georgia patient, receive a written notice of the address and telephone number of the Georgia licensing authority, which is charged with the responsibility of licensing our facility provider and investigating client complaints which appear to violate licensing regulations;
• If you are a Colorado patient, register complaints with us at the Colorado Health Facilities & Emergency Medical Services Division at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLOLmW1TxB6ZqDcUivQkVOvtLHZc7OfXBEKDkgL-4valt22Q/viewform, or call the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment at Call303-692-2827 or the appropriate oversight board at the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA); and
• Obtain a copy of our most recent completed report of licensure inspection upon written request.

Texas Minors

If you are a minor in Texas, you have a right to:

• Appropriate treatment in the least restrictive setting available;
• Not receive unnecessary or excessive medication;
• An individualized treatment plan and to participate in the development of the plan;
• A humane treatment environment that provides reasonable protection from harm and appropriate privacy for personal needs;
• Separation from adult patients; and
• Regular communication between you and your family.

Patient Responsibility

You have the responsibility to:

• Advise your provider of any changes in your condition or any events that affect your service needs.