Patient Bill of Rights

This facility presents a Patient Bill of Rights with the expectation that observance of these rights will contribute to more effective patient care and greater satisfaction for the patient, his/her physician and the group organization.  It is recognized that a personal relationship between the physician and the patient is essential for the provision of proper medical care.  The traditional physician-patient relationship takes a new dimension when care is rendered within an organizational structure.  Legal precedent has established that the facility itself also has a responsibility to the patient.  It is in recognition of these factors that these rights are affirmed.

1)  The patient has the right to consideration and respectful care.

2)  The patient has the right to obtain from his/her physician complete current information concerning his/her diagnosis, treatment and prognosis in terms that patient can be reasonably expected to understand.  When it is not medically advisable to give such information to the patient, the information should be made available to an appropriate person in his/her behalf.  He/She has the right to know by name the physician responsible for coordinating his/her care.

3)  The patient has the right to receive from his/her physician the information necessary to give informed consent prior to the start of any procedure and/or treatment.  Except in emergencies, such information for informed consent should include but not necessarily be limited to the specific procedure and/or treatment, the medically significant risks involved and the probable duration of incapacitation.  Where medical significant alternatives for care or treatment exist, or when the patient requests information concerning medical alternatives, the patient has the right to know the name of the person responsible for the procedures and/or treatment.

4)  The patient has the right to refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and to be informed of the medical consequences of his/her actions.

5)  The patient has the right to every consideration of his/her privacy concerning his/her medical care program.  Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly.  Those not directly involved in his/her care must have the permission of the patient to be present.

6)  The patient has the right to expect that all communications and records pertaining to his/her care will be treated as confidential.

7)  The patient has the right to expect that within its capacity this facility must provide evaluation, service and/or referral as indicated by the urgency of the case.  When medically permissible, a patient may be transferred to another facility only after he/she has received complete information and explanation concerning the needs for and alternatives to such a transfer.  The institution to which the patient is to be transferred must first have accepted the patient for transfer.

8)  The patient has the right to obtain information as to any relationship of this facility with other health care and educational institutions insofar as his/her care is concerned.  The patient has the right to obtain information as to the existence of any professional relationship among individuals by name that is treating him/her.

9)  The patient has the right to be advised if this accredited office-based surgery facility proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation affecting his/her care or treatment.  The patient has the right to refuse to participate in such research projects.

10)  The patient has the right to expect reasonable continuity of care.  He/she has the right to know in advance what appointment times and physicians are available and where.  The patient has the right to expect that this facility will provide a mechanism whereby he/she is informed by his physician of the patient’s continuing health care requirements following discharge.

11)  The patient has the right to examine and receive any explanation of his/her bill regardless of the source of payment.

12)  The patient has the right to know what facility rules and regulations apply to his/her conduct as a patient.

No catalog of rights can guarantee for the patient the kind of treatment he/she has a right to expect.  This facility has many functions to perform, including the prevention and treatment of disease, the education of both health professionals and patients and the conduct of clinical research.  All these activities must be conducted with an overriding concern for the patient and above all the recognition of his/her dignity as a human being.  Success in achieving this recognition assures success in the defense of the rights of the patient.

The Patient Responsibilities

It is the patient’s responsibility to fully participate in decisions involving his/her own health care and to accept the consequences of these decisions if complications occur.

The patient is expected to follow-up on his/her physician’s instructions, take medication when prescribed and ask questions concerning his/her own health care that he/she feels is necessary.