Background:

The staff members of Gerber Memorial Health Services are dedicated to providing the best care and treatment and to ease, as much as possible, any anxiety patients may have.

Policy:

Gerber Memorial Health Services has established a Patient's 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 hospital organization. These rights are supported by the hospital, on behalf of its patients, as an integral part of the healing process.

The personal relationship between the physician and the patient is essential for the provision of proper medical care, and the traditional physician-patient relationship takes on a new dimension when care is rendered within an organizational structure. It is in recognition of these factors that the following rights are affirmed.

1. A patient will not be denied appropriate care on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, handicap, marital status, sexual preference, or source of payment.
   
   
2. An individual who is or has been a patient is entitled to inspect or receive, for a reasonable fee, a copy of his or her medical record upon request. A third party shall not be given a copy of the patient's medical record without prior authorization of the patient.
   
   
3. A patient is entitled to confidential treatment of personal and medical records, and may refuse their release to a person outside the facility except as required because of a transfer to another health care facility or as required by law or third party payment contract.
   
   
4. A patient is entitled to privacy to the extent feasible in treatment and in caring for personal needs with consideration, respect, and full recognition of his or her dignity and individuality.
   
   
5. A patient is entitled to receive adequate and appropriate care and to receive, from the appropriate individual within the facility, information about his or her medical condition, proposed course of treatment, and prospects for recovery, in terms that the patient can understand, unless medically contraindicated as documented by the attending physician in the medical record.
   
   
6. A patient is entitled to refuse treatment to the extent provided by law and to be informed of the consequences of that refusal. When a refusal of treatment prevents a health facility or its staff from providing appropriate care according to ethical and professional standards, the relationship with the patient may be terminated upon reasonable notice.
   
   
7. A patient is entitled to exercise his or her rights as a patient and as a citizen, and to this end may present grievances or recommended changes in policies and services on behalf of himself or herself or others to the facility staff, to governmental officials, or to another person of his or her choice within or outside the facility, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal. A patient is entitled to information about the facilities' policies and procedures for initiation, review, and resolution of patient complaints.
   
   
8. A patient is entitled to information concerning an experimental procedure proposed as a part of his or her care and shall have the right to refuse to participate in the experiment without jeopardizing his or her continuing care.
   
   
9. A patient is entitled to receive and examine an explanation of his or her bill regardless of the source of payment and to receive, upon request, information relating to financial assistance available through the facility.
   
   
10. A patient is entitled to know who is responsible for and who is providing his or her direct care, is entitled to receive information concerning his or her continuing health needs and alternatives for meeting those needs, and to be involved in his or her discharge planning, if appropriate.
    
    
11. A patient is entitled to associate and have private communications and consultations with his or her physician, attorney, or any other person of his or her choice and to send and receive personal mail unopened on the same day it is received at the health facility or agency, unless medically contraindicated as documented by the attending physician in the medical record. A patient's civil and religious liberties, including the right to independent personal decisions and the right to knowledge of available choices, shall not be infringed and the facility shall encourage and assist in the fullest possible exercise of these rights. A patient may meet with and participate in the activities of social, religious, and community groups at his or her discretion, unless medically contraindicated as documented by the attending physician in the medical record.
    
    
12. A patient is entitled to be free from mental and physical abuse and from physical and chemical restraints, except those restraints authorized in writing by the attending physician for a specified and limited time or as are necessitated by an emergency to protect the patient 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 use of restraints, and who shall promptly report the action to the attending physician.
    
    
13. A patient is entitled to be free from performing services for the facility that are not included for therapeutic purposes in the plan of care.
    
    
14. A patient is entitled to information about the health facility rules and regulations affecting patient care and conduct.
    
    
15. As a patient, and families when appropriate, you can expect: pain information to be provided to you in an educational format, during the hospital stay and while completing your discharge planning activities.
    
    
16. Concerned staff is committed to pain preventative education, conducting initial assessment and regular reassessment of pain, quick pain relief interventions, and measurement of the pain relief.
17. The patient's, and family when appropriate, expressions of pain will be taken seriously.
    
    
18. The staff will take in account personal, cultural, spiritual and/or ethic beliefs communicating to patients and families that pain management is an important part of care.
    
    
19. As a patient your responsibility will be to ask your doctor or nurses what pain to expect, discuss pain relief options with your doctors and nurses, work with your doctor and nurse to make a pain relief plan, ask for pain relief drugs when pain first begins, help the doctor and nurse measure your pain, tell the doctor or nurse about any pain that will not go away, and to discuss any potential for dependency on pain medication.