Patient Rights and Responsibilities

Bates County Memorial Hospital has a Patient Bill of Rights and Responsibilities to assist in the understanding between patients and staff. Please consider this information as our commitment to provide respectful and courteous care for all of our patients. An authorized representative, including a guardian, can exercise these rights on the patient’s behalf if the patient is not able to make his/her own decisions, is legally incompetent or is a minor.

You, the patient, have the right to:

Participation

• Participate in the development and implementation of a plan of care.
• Make informed decisions regarding your care. This right includes being informed of your health status, being involved in care planning and treatment, and being able to request or refuse treatment.
• Appoint a surrogate to make health care decisions on your behalf to the extent permitted by law.
• Formulate advance directives and to have hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital comply with these directives.
• Prompt notification of patient and their representative of patient’s choice and to promptly notify patient’s physician of admission.
• Participate in your discharge planning, including being informed of available services options and choices of agencies that provide the service.
• File a formal or informal verbal or written grievance and to expect a prompt resolution of the grievance.

Information

• Receive information in a manner you understand.
• Be informed of your visitation rights, including any clinical restrictions or limitations.
• Be informed of your right, subject to your consent, to receive the visitors you designate including, but not limited to a spouse, a domestic partner (including a same-sex domestic partner), another family member or a friend and your right to withdraw or deny such consent at any time. BCMH will not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
• Be informed, upon request, regarding general information pertaining to services received.
• Be informed of any aspects of the advance directive that the hospital will not implement due to institution-wide or individual physician’s conscientious objection.
• Access clinical records as quickly as record keeping system permits. The hospital must not impede the legitimate efforts of individuals to gain access to their own clinical records and must actively seek to meet these requests as quickly as the record keeping system permits.
• Be informed of your health status, including diagnosis and prognosis.
• Receive a detailed copy of your bill, even if insurance is paying.
• Be informed of hospital’s complaint/grievance policies and procedures including who to contact and how.
• Obtain, upon request, the name and specialty of the physician or others responsible for your care.
• Be fully informed of your responsibilities.

Safety

• Assurance that staff will follow current standards of practice for patient environmental safety, infection control, and security.
• Appropriate assessment and management of pain.
• Be free from all forms of abuse, neglect, harassment, or corporal punishment.
• Be free from restraints and seclusion of any form used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by the staff.
• Have personal possessions brought to the hospital reasonably protected.
• Protective oversight while a patient in the hospital.
• Receive care in a safe setting.
• Safe patient handling through the use of equipment, tools, and policies to reduce manual lifting and the risk of injury to you or hospital staff. Staff members should explain how the equipment is used for your safety and comfort.

Nondiscrimination

• BCMH complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex.
• Be treated with dignity and respect.
• Be provided, at no cost, auxiliary aids, and services (including interpreter) if disabled (deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or other sensory or manual impairment).
• Have your clinical records kept confidential.
• Personal privacy.
• Receive care to make you as comfortable as possible and if you are dying, including spiritual needs regarding death.

You, the patient, have a responsibility to:

• Provide information about past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters related to your health.
• Keep scheduled appointments and notify the hospital when you are unable to do so.
• Ask questions when you do not understand your care, treatment, and services.
• Participate in the development of the plan for care, treatment, and services.
• Be considerate of other patients.
• Respect hospital property and follow hospital rules governing visitation, noise, smoking, and use of equipment.
• Notify staff when you feel your rights have been violated.
• Provide adequate information for processing and payment of your bill.

Medicare Fraud and Abuse