Patient Rights and Responsibilities
As a patient, you have the right to high-quality, compassionate care. In addition, there are specific rights and responsibilities you have during your hospital stay.
As a patient you have the right:
- To be informed of your rights in writing and in a language and method (i.e. assistive devices or interpreter for patients with communication challenges) that you understand
- To be informed of your health status and prognosis, make informed decisions regarding your care, to participate in the development and implementation of your plan of care, and to request and refuse treatment
- To formulate an advance directive and have hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital comply with your directive
- To have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital
- To personal privacy and to receive care in a safe setting
- To the confidentiality of your medical records and to access information contained in your medical records within a reasonable time frame
- To be free from restraints and seclusion of any form that are not medically necessary or are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by staff
- To file a grievance and have that grievance addressed in a timely manner
- To have your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected
- To pastoral and other spiritual services
- To an environment that preserves personal dignity
- To access, request amendment to, and receive an accounting of disclosures regarding your own health information, as permitted under applicable law
- To accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment, including forgoing or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment or withholding resuscitative services
- To effective communication
- To voice complaints and recommend changes without being subject to coercion, discrimination, reprisal, or unreasonable interruption of care, treatment, and services
- To be free from mental, physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation
- To pain management
To access protective and advocacy services
As a patient you have the responsibility:
- To provide accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications and other matters relating to your health, report perceived risks in your care, and unexpected changes in your condition
- To follow the care, treatment, and service plan developed and express any concern about your ability to follow the proposed care plan or course of care, treatment, and services
- To ask questions if you do not understand your care, treatment, and service or if you do not understand what you are expected to do
- To help your doctor and nurse assess your pain, tell them if your pain is not relieved, and to discuss any worries you have about taking pain medication
- To not complicate or endanger your ability to get well by taking medications which have not been prescribed by your doctor and administered by the nurses or by consuming alcohol or illicit drugs while receiving care
- To act with consideration and respect toward doctors, nurses, and other Dardanelle Regional Medical Center staff
- To be considerate of other patients and to observe the privacy and confidentiality of others
- To be respectful of the property of other persons and the property of Dardanelle Regional Medical Center
- To follow the rules, regulations and policies of Dardanelle Regional Medical Center as explained to you
- To promptly meet any agreed to financial obligation with Dardanelle Regional Medical Center for the outcomes if you do not follow the care, treatment and service plan