Patients' Rights and Responsibilities

1. You have the right to be informed about your rights as a patient at the earliest possible moment in your hospitalization.
2. You have the right to be treated with dignity, consideration, respect and recognition of your individual and personal needs by competent personnel.
3. You have the right to quality care and professional standards which are continually maintained and reviewed.
4. You have the right to medically appropriate treatment without discrimination based on race, color, cultural or religious beliefs, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability or your ability to pay for your care.
5. You have the right to know which hospital rules and regulations apply to your conduct as a patient.
6. You have the right to every consideration of privacy concerning your medical care. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are considered confidential and will be conducted discreetly. This includes the right to have a person of one’s own sex present during a physical examination, treatment or procedure performed by a member of the opposite sex; to wear appropriate personal clothing and religious or other symbolic items, as long as they do not interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatment
7. Your hospital records are private and will be treated as confidential. They will not be released to individuals outside the hospital without your consent, except in the case of transfer to another healthcare facility, or as otherwise provided by law or third-party contractual arrangements.
8. You are entitled, upon request, to have access to information contained in your medical records within a reasonable timeframe, unless such access is specifically restricted by the attending physician for medical reasons.
9. You have the right to full information relating to diagnosis, treatment and alternatives, prognosis and any risk of complications provided in layman’s terms. When it is not medically advisable to provide the information directly to you, the information will be given to the person designated by you.
10. You have the right to expect good management techniques within the hospital, taking into consideration your comfort, safety and effective use of your time.
11. You have the right to know who will perform a procedure or an operation. Upon request, you will be given the names of all physicians directly participating in your care, along with the names and functions of other healthcare personnel having direct contact with you.
12. You are entitled to develop and plan your treatment and to have full information necessary for you to understand your medical problems, diagnosis, planned course of treatment, alternative treatments, probable length of hospitalization, possibility of complications and the prognosis or medical outlook for your future. When it is not medically advisable to give such information directly to you, the information will be given to your legal representative.
13. Except in a medical emergency, your physician must obtain the necessary informed consent from you (or your legal representative) prior to the start of any invasive procedure or treatment, unless this would have a serious adverse effect on you.
14. You have the right not to be involved in a medical research or donor program, unless you have (or your legal representative has) given informed consent to participate in such programs and you may, at any time, refuse to continue in such programs.
15. You have the right to refuse any procedure, operation, treatment or drug offered by the physician or hospital, to the extent permitted by law, and to have a physician inform you of the medical consequences of such a refusal.
16. You have the right to assistance in obtaining additional consultation with another physician, at your own request and expense.
17. You have the right to access any individual of agency authorized to act on your behalf to protect your rights under this policy.
18. When required, you have the right to access a qualified interpreter.
19. You may expect emergency procedures to be performed without unnecessary delay.
20. You are entitled to know the services available at the hospital and the charges relating to those services, including charges for services not covered by government funding or other third-party payment.
21. The possibility for transfer to another facility could occur for medical reasons, continuity of treatment, or for your welfare or that of other patients. Prior to transfer, either you or your legal representative will receive complete information, an explanation concerning the needs for, and alternatives to, such a transfer. The facility to which you are to be transferred must first have accepted you for transfer.
22. You have the right to expect information regarding your continuing healthcare needs and the means for meeting them.
23. You have the right to examine, and receive, an explanation of any charges related to your care.
24. You have the right to full information and counseling on the availability of financial aid for health care.
25. You are encouraged to share any grievances or suggestions about hospital policies and services with a member of the staff or administration, with an agency or regulatory body with jurisdiction over the hospital or through a representative of your choice, without restraint, interference or reprisal.
26. You have the right to have your concerns addressed in a timely fashion.
27. You have the right to formulate advance directives or to appoint a surrogate to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. This hospital and its healthcare professionals will honor these decisions within the limits of the law and this organization’s mission, values and philosophy.
28. You have, or your surrogate has the right, in conjunction with your physician, to withhold or withdraw treatment, within the limits of the law and this organization’s mission, values and philosophy, and to be informed of the medical consequences of such actions.
29. You have the right to have a family member or a representative and your own physician promptly notified of your admission to the hospital or to refuse to have family members participate in your care.
30. You have the right to receive care in a safe setting, free from all forms of abuse and harassment.
31. You have the right to express your pain and have that expression accepted and respected as the most reliable indicator of pain, to have your pain assessed systematically and thoroughly, to have your pain managed according to the most currently accepted guidelines, to receive a prompt response to unrelieved pain, and to be informed and involved in all decisions regarding all aspects of your pain care.

You are responsible for supplying accurate and complete information about past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, allergies and other matters related to your health.
You are responsible for notifying your doctor or nurse about any unexpected changes in your health problems.
You are responsible for following the instructions of your physician and other healthcare personnel. Let us know immediately if you do not understand or cannot follow the instructions.
You are responsible for your actions if you refuse treatment or do not follow the instructions of the physician or other healthcare personnel.
You are responsible for fulfilling the financial obligations of your health care as soon as possible.
You are responsible for any of your valuables, including jewelry and money, not deposited in the hospital safe.
You are responsible for providing a copy of your advance directive to the hospital.
You are responsible to not complicate or endanger the healing process by consuming unprescribed medications, alcoholic beverages or toxic substances during your hospital stay.
You are responsible to discuss pain relief choices with your physician or nurse, to ask your physician or nurse what to expect, to ask for pain relief as soon as the pain begins, to work with your physician or nurse to develop a pain relief plan, to assist in measuring your pain, and to tell your physician or nurse about pain that is unrelieved.
You are responsible to participate in your health care by helping make decisions, following the treatment plan prescribed by your physician, and accepting responsibility for your choices.
You are responsible to follow hospital rules and regulations about safety and patient care during your stay such as those about visitation, smoking and noise.
You are responsible for being considerate of other patients and their families.

Visitation privileges consistent with the patient preference and subject to the hospital’s Justified Clinical Restrictions.
Each patient has the right to receive the visitors whom he/she designates and may designate a support person to exercise the patient’s visitation rights on his/ her behalf.
All visitors designated by the patient (or support person where appropriate) shall enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family member would enjoy.
The hospital may impose clinically necessary or reasonable restrictions or limitations on patient visitation when necessary to respect all other patient rights and to provide safe care to patients. A justified Clinical Restriction may include, but need not be limited to one or more of the following:

a court order limiting or restraining contact;

behavior presenting a direct risk or threat to the patient, hospital staff, or others in the immediate environment;
behavior disruptive of the functioning of the patient care unit;
reasonable limitations on the number of visitors at any one time;
patient’s risk of infection by the visitor;
visitor’s risk of infection by the patient;
extraordinary protections because of a pandemic or infectious disease outbreak;
substance abuse treatment protocols requiring restricted visitation;
patient’s need for privacy or rest;
when the patient is undergoing clinical intervention or procedure and the treating health care professional believes it is in the patient’s best interest to limit visitation during the clinical intervention or procedure.