Rights & Responsibilities
As a patient of Queen of the Valley Medical Center, you are considered
a partner in developing and carrying out your plan of care. Below, you
will find access to a list of your rights as a patient, and a summary
of responsibilities that are expected of you.
Patient Rights
You as a patient have the right to the following:
- Considerate and respectful care, and to be made comfortable. You have the
right to respect for your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal
values, beliefs and preferences.
- Have a family member (or other representative of your choosing) and your
own physician notified promptly of your admission to the Medical Center.
- Know the name of the physician who has primary responsibility for coordinating
your care and the names and professional relationships of other physicians
and non-physicians who will see you.
- Receive information about your health status, diagnosis, prognosis, course
of treatment, prospects for recovery and outcomes of care (including unanticipated
outcomes) in terms you can understand. You have a right to effective communication
and to participate in the development and implementation of your plan
of care. You have the right to participate in ethical questions that arise
in the course of your care, including issues of conflict resolution, withholding
resuscitative services, and forgoing or withdrawing life sustaining treatment.
- Make decisions regarding medical care, and receive as much information
about any proposed treatment or procedure as you may need in order to
give informed consent or to refuse a course of treatment. Except in emergencies,
this information shall include a description of the procedure or treatment,
the medically significant risks involved, alternate courses of treatment
or non-treatment and the risks involved in each, and the name of the person
who will carry out the procedure or treatment.
- Request or refuse treatment, to the extent permitted by law. However, you
do not have the right to demand inappropriate or medically unnecessary
treatment or services. You have the right to leave the facility even against
the advice of physicians, to the extent permitted by law.
- Be advised if the Medical Center/personal physician proposes to engage
in or perform human experimentation affecting your care or treatment.
You have the right to refuse to participate in such research projects.
- Reasonable responses to any requests made for services.
- Appropriate assessment and management of your pain, information about pain,
pain relief measures and to participate in pain management decisions.
You may request or reject the use of any or all modalities to relieve
pain, including opiate medication, if you suffer from severe chronic intractable
pain. The doctor may refuse to prescribe the opiate medication, but if
so, must inform you that there are physicians who specialize in the treatment
of severe chronic pain with methods that include the use of opiates.
- Formulate Advance health care Directives. This includes designating a decision
maker if you become incapable of understanding a proposed treatment or
become unable to communicate your wishes regarding care. Facility staff
and practitioners who provide care in this facility shall comply with
these directives. All patients’ rights apply to the person who has
legal responsibility to make decisions regarding medical care on your behalf.
- Have personal privacy respected. Case discussion, consultation, examination
and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly. You
have the right to be told the reason for the presence of any individual.
You have the right to have visitors leave prior to an examination and
when treatment issues are being discussed. Privacy curtains will be used
in semi-private rooms
-
Confidential treatment of all communications and records pertaining to
your care and stay in this facility. You will receive a "Notice of Privacy Practices” that explains your privacy rights in detail and how we may use
and disclose your protected health information.
- Receive care in a safe setting, free from mental, physical, sexual or verbal
abuse and neglect, exploitation or harassment. You have the right to access
protective and advocacy services including notifying government agencies
of neglect or abuse.
- Be free from restraints and seclusion of any form used as a means of coercion,
discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.
- Reasonable continuity of care and to know in advance the time and location
of appointments as well as the identity of the persons providing the care.
- Be informed by the physician, or a delegate of the physician, of continuing
health care requirements and options following discharge from our facility.
You have the right to be involved in the development and implementation
of your discharge plan. Upon your request, a friend or family member may
be provided this information also.
- Know which Medical Center rules and policies apply to your conduct while
a patient.
-
Designate visitors of your choosing, if you have decision-making capacity,
whether or not the visitor is related by blood or marriage, unless:
- No visitors are allowed.
- The facility reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor
would endanger the health or safety of the patient, a member of the health
facility staff or other visitor to the health facility, or would significantly
disrupt the operations of the facility.
- You have told the health staff that you no longer want a particular person to visit.
- However, a health facility may establish reasonable restrictions upon visitation,
including restrictions upon the hours of visitation and number of visitors.
- Have your wishes considered, if you lack decision-making capacity, for
the purposes of determining who may visit. The method of that consideration
will be disclosed in the Queen of the Valley policy on visitation. At
minimum, the Medical Center shall include any persons living in your household.
-
Examine and receive an explanation of your Queen of the Valley bill regardless
of the source of payment. (See
Billing & Charges)
- Exercise these rights without regard to sex, economic status, educational
background, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability,
sexual orientation or marital status or the source of payment for care.
(See Non-Discrimination Policy)
-
File a grievance. (See
Complaint Resolution)
-
File a complaint with the state Department of Health Services regardless
of whether you use the Queen of the Valley Medical Center’s grievance
process. (See
Complaint Resolution).
Patient Responsibilities
- You are responsible for providing complete and correct information about
your medical history and current health condition. You are responsible
for reporting changes in your condition. You are also responsible for
reporting any concerns that you may have about the safety of your care.
- It is important to follow the instructions of your doctor and care team.
If you cannot follow your care instructions, you should discuss it with
a member of your care team.
- You are responsible for keeping your appointments and letting your doctor
know when you are not able to keep them.
- You are responsible for financial costs relating to your care. These costs
must be paid in a timely manner.
- You are expected to follow Medical Center rules about care and conduct.
Please respect the rights and property of facility staff and other patients.
You are also expected to follow facility rules such as those regarding
noise, smoking and visitation.
- You or your representative should let us know if you have an Advance health
care Directive. If you have one, please bring a copy to the Admitting
Office. At the time of admission, we will need to know the identity of
your agent and the general nature of your preferences for your care. A
clinical social worker can help you prepare an Advance Directive if you
have not done so.
- You are responsible for asking questions when you do not understand what
you have been told about your medical care or what is expected of you.
Asking questions will help your care team provide the safest possible care.