PATIENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES PATIENT RESPONSIBILITIES HOSPITAL RULES AND REGULATIONS – The patient is responsible for following hospital rules and regulations affecting their care and conduct. HONESTY – The patient is responsible for being honest and direct about everything that relates to them as a patient. The patient must provide a complete and accurate medical history to the healthcare team. UNDERSTANDING – It is the responsibility of the patient to ask questions when they do not understand any aspect of care. FOLLOWING THE TREATMENT PLAN – It is the patient’s responsibility to tell the people treating them that they can and/or want to follow a certain treatment plan. The patient should help the healthcare team in its efforts to return the patient to health by following the team’s instructions and medical orders. ADVANCE DIRECTIVES / REFUSAL OF TREATMENT – The patient has the responsibility to inform and present to the physician any Advance Directives that exist, such as Living Wills or Healthcare Durable Power of Attorneys; and of the patient’s wishes concerning any medical treatment that may be indicated. The patient is responsible for his/her actions if he/she refuses treatment or does not follow the practitioner’s instructions. REPORTING CHANGES – It is the patient’s responsibility to let the healthcare team know about any changes in his/her health and how the patient feels as he/she receives medical treatment. KNOWING THE STAFF – When the patient is in the hospital, a healthcare team will work with the patient on his/her plan of treatment. Patients should try to know who the team members are and learn to understand what part the team members play in the patient’s medical care. HOSPITAL CHARGES – The patient is responsible for providing the hospital with accurate and timely information about his/her sources of payment and ability to meet financial obligations. RESPECT AND CONSIDERATION – The patient has the responsibility to be considerate of other patients by allowing roommates to have priva- cy, limiting visitors and reminding visitors to maintain a quiet atmosphere. Telephones, TVs, radios and lights should be used in a manner agreeable to others. The patient is also responsible for respecting and being considerate of hospital personnel and property. PATIENT RIGHTS ACCESS TO CARE – The patient has the right to be treated when accommodations and appropriate therapeutic modalities are available and treatment is medically indicated, regardless of sex, race, age, disability, sexual preference, cultural, economic, educational, spiritual/religious background or the source of payment for their health care. RESPECT / DIGNITY – The patient has the right to have individual human dignity recognized and respected. The patient’s care will include consideration of psychosocial, spiritual and cultural needs that may influence the perceptions of illness. All patients have a right to pain relief. The care of the dying patient will be given in such a way as to optimize comfort and dignity and effectively manage pain. Hospital staff will acknowledge the patient’s/designated representative’s psychosocial and spiritual concerns regarding dying and the expression of grief by the patient and family. PRIVACY – The patient is entitled to privacy, to the extent possible, in treatment, in interviewing and in care for their personal needs. CARE PLAN – In collaboration with the physician, the patient is entitled to receive care from the appropriate individual(s) within the hospital, information about their medical condition, proposed course of treatment and prospects for recovery, in terms they can understand, unless medically contraindicated as documented by the attending physician in the medical record, to enable the patient to make decisions that reflect the patient’s wishes. IDENTITY – The patient has the right to know who is responsible for his/her care and to know the identity and professional status of individuals providing service to the patient. CONSENT AND REFUSAL – The patient’s written consent is required on admission to the hospital and when certain procedures are to be done. The patient is entitled to refuse medical or surgical treatment to the extent provided by law and to be informed of the consequences of that refusal. When a refusal of treatment prevents the hospital or its staff from providing appropriate care according to ethical and profes- sional standards, the relationship with the patient may be terminated upon reasonable notice. ADVANCE DIRECTIVES – The patient is entitled to written information regarding the Patient Self Determination Act of 1990. The patient has the right to have a copy of their Medical Advance Directives kept in their medical record and to have those directives brought to the attention of their attending physician. The patient’s guardian, next of kin or legally authorized responsible person may exercise, to the extent permitted by law, the rights delineated on the patient’s behalf if the patient has been adjudicated incompetent in accordance with the law, if the patient is found by his/her physician to be medically incapable of understanding the proposed treatment or procedure, if the patient is unable to communicate his/her wishes regarding treatment or the patient is a minor. CONTINUITY OF CARE – The patient is entitled to receive information and education concerning his/her continuing healthcare needs and alternatives for meeting those needs and to be involved in discharge planning. If the patient needs to be transferred to another facility, he or she has the right to a complete explanation of the need for the transfer and the benefits, risks and alternatives for such a transfer. CONFIDENTIALITY – The patient or their legally designated representative is entitled to confidential treatment of personal and medical records (within the limits of the law) and may refuse release of information to any person outside the hospital except as required because of a transfer to another healthcare facility or as required by law or third-party payment contract. PERSONAL SAFETY / ABUSE – The patient has the right to expect reasonable safety precautions in regards to practices and environment. The patient is entitled to be free from mental and physical abuse and from physical and chemical restraints, except those restraints autho- rized in writing by a physician for a specified diagnosis and specified limited time or as are necessitated by an emergency to protect them from injury to self or others, in which case the restraint may only be applied by a qualified professional who shall set forth in writing the circumstances requiring the restraint. The patient is entitled to be free from performing services from the hospital that are not included for therapeutic purposes in their plan of care.
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