Patient Rights & Responsibilities

We respect and value the privacy and personal dignity of our patients, and support patients’ rights to receive considerate, respectful care regardless of race, spiritual, cultural or personal beliefs, gender, or any other status as protected by law.

Patients (or patient’s representative as allowed under State law) have the right to:

• Receive care in a respectful manner, which preserves dignity and positive self-image.
• Effective communication in a manner he or she understands.
• Respect of individual cultural and personal values, beliefs, and preferences.
• Personal privacy.
• Receive care in a safe setting.
• Confidentiality of his or her clinical records/personal health information.
• Have pain treated as effectively as possible.
• Religious and other spiritual services.
• Access, request amendment to, and/or obtain information on disclosures of his or her health information, in accordance with law and regulation.
• A family member, friend, or other individual of the patient’s choice, to be present with the patient for emotional support during the course of his or her stay unless the individual’s presence infringes on others’ rights, safety, or is medically or therapeutically contraindicated.
• Receive visitors designated by the patient, including, but not limited to, a spouse, a domestic partner (including a same-sex domestic partner), another family member, or friend. Also included is the right to withdraw, restrict, or deny such consent at any time.
• Be informed of any clinical restriction or limitation on visitation rights.
• Not be restricted, limited, or denied visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, identity, sexual orientation, or disability.
• Full and equal visitation privileges consistent with patient preferences and in accordance with the Patient Visitation Policy. To safeguard patients, there may be temporary restrictions for visitation put in place by the hospital when there is a heightened concern of a wide-spread infectious disease development.
• Participate and make informed decisions about his or her care, treatment, and services. This would include the patient’s right to refuse care, treatment, and services, in accordance with law and regulation. This right is not a mechanism to demand a provision of treatment or services deemed medically unnecessary or inappropriate.
• Have his or her family (as requested) and physician promptly notified of his or her admission to the hospital.
• A surrogate decision maker when the patient is unable to make decisions about his or her care, treatment, and services in accordance with the law and regulation.
• Give or withhold informed consent regarding specific care, treatment, and services in accordance with law and regulation. The patient’s family has the right to informed consent of donation of organs and tissues.
• Give or withhold informed consent to produce or use recordings, films, or other images of the patient for purposes other than his or her care.
• Be fully informed of and to consent or refuse to participate in any investigation, clinical trial, and/or unusual experimental or research project without compromising his or her access to service.
• Receive information, about the individual(s) responsible for, as well as those providing his or her care, treatment, and services. This includes provider’s name and professional status.
• Advance directives and to have hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital comply with these directives.
• To be free from all forms of abuse or harassment; neglect; or exploitation; to include verbal, mental, physical, and sexual abuse.
• Have complaints reviewed by the hospital through an established complaint resolution process.
• Access protective and advocacy services.
• Be free from restraints of any form that are not medically necessary or are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by staff.
• Be free from financial or other exploitation.
• Be free from retaliation and humiliation.

In addition to the rights listed above, Psychiatric patients (or legal surrogate decision maker) have the right to be fully informed of:

• The current and future use and disposition of products of special observation and audiovisual techniques such as one way vision mirrors, tape recorders, closed circuit video or audio monitors, movies, photographs or video recordings.
• The responsibility of the treatment team (facility), when the patient refuses treatments, to seek appropriate legal alternatives or orders of involuntary treatment, or in accordance with professional standards, to terminate the relationship with the patient upon reasonable notice.
• The right to withdraw informed consent at any time.
• The rules and regulations of the facility applicable to his/her conduct.
• The discharge plan designed to meet his/her needs for follow up care/services.
• The right to send or receive mail provided there are no violations of federal, state, or local laws.
• The right to conduct personal telephone conversations unless clinically contraindicated in the individualized treatment plan.
• The right to request, at his/her own expense, the opinion of a consultant.
• The right to request a review of his/her individualized treatment plan.
• The right of access to legal or religious counsel without regard to visiting schedules.
• The right to reasonable time and space for visiting by family or other social supports unless such visits are clinically contraindicated. The age of visitors may be a limiting factor but not absolute if provisions for visiting are possible.
• The right to request limitations in who may visit or inquire as to his/her status as a patient.
• The right to have staff knock/announce themselves appropriately when entering his/her private area.
• The right to initiate a complaint or grievance procedure and the appropriate means of requesting a hearing or review of the complaint.

Patients (or patient’s representative as allowed under State law) has the responsibility to:

• Provide information that facilitates the patients care, treatment, and services.
• Treat those giving them care, other patients, and guests visiting the hospital, with dignity and respect.
• Abide by all hospital rules and safety regulations; being mindful of noise levels, others privacy, and number of visitors.
• Ask their providers questions about their care. The patient and family are responsible for asking questions when they do not understand what they have been told about the patient’s care or what they are expected to do.
• Understand, help develop, and follow the agreed-upon treatment plans for their care, including the agreed-upon medication plan.
• Let their provider know when the treatment plan no longer works for them.
• Tell the doctors and other caregivers if they expect problems in following prescribed treatments.
• Accept the consequences of their actions and the outcome if treatment is refused or not followed.
• Tell their provider about medication changes, including medications given to them by other providers.
• Keep their appointments, be on time, and call their health care provider as soon as possible if you cannot keep your scheduled appointment.
• Provide complete and accurate information about their health insurance coverage and/or any changes to it. The patient is responsible for assuring that the financial obligations of his/her health care are fulfilled as promptly as possible.
• Openly report concerns about quality of care, fraud, and/or abuse.
• Let their provider know about any changes to their contact information, including their full name, home address, phone number, date of birth, social security number, insurance information, and employer.
• Provide, to the best of their knowledge, complete and accurate information on their health history, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters related to their health status in order to give the best possible care.
• Report perceived risks in their care and/or changes in their condition to their physician.
• Ask for additional information or explanation about their health status or treatment when they do not fully understand information and instructions.
• Ensure that the health care institution has a copy of the written advance directive if they have one.
• Recognize the impact of their lifestyle on their personal health.
• Actively participate in their pain management plan and to keep their doctors and nurses informed of the effectiveness of their treatment.
• Respect the property of other persons and the hospital.