Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Mission

We demonstrate God’s care by improving the health of people and communities through a ministry of physical, mental and spiritual healing.

You, the patient, and/or when appropriate, family, have the following rights and responsibilities:

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT:

1. To expect your personal privacy to be respected to the fullest extent consistent with the care prescribed for you and applicable law.
2. To be involved in decision making with your physician, talking in language you may reasonably be expected to understand, about your diagnosis, treatment prescribed for you, prognosis of your illness and any instructions required for follow-up care. Persons not directly involved in your care must have your permission to be present.
3. To create Advance Directives (LivingWill/Durable Power of Attorney) and appoint a surrogate to make health care decisions on your behalf to the extent permitted by law.
4. To have access to interpretive services, when necessary and appropriate, to prevent language barriers from hampering your care; for the hearing or visually impaired, to have access to appropriate audiovisual aids.
5. To have your request received in a dignified, respectful manner and addressed as quickly as circumstances permit.
6. To know by name the physician, nurses and staff members responsible for your care.
7. To be informed of the reason you are given various tests and treatments and the persons providing your care.
8. To be involved in the informed consent process that includes a discussion about potential benefits, risks, and/or side effects of a proposed treatment/care/services, the likelihood of achieving the goal and/or potential problems that might occur during recuperation.
9. To change your mind about any procedure for which you have given consent or to refuse treatment and to be informed of the medical consequences of this action.
10. To be informed about the outcomes of care, including unanticipated outcomes.
11. To complete information as to the reason for a transfer to another institution, if necessary (including the alternatives to such a transfer), and the knowledge that the other institution has accepted you as a patient for transfer.
12. To access pastoral care or other spiritual services.
13. To request through your attending physician a second opinion by another physician; to change physicians; or to change hospitals.
14. To participate in ethical discussion that arise in the course of your care, including issues of conflict resolution, withholding resuscitative services, forgoing or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and participation in investigational studies or clinical trials.
15. To receive care and treatment in a safe environment.
16. To have pain managed in a compassionate manner.
17. To access protective services, including guardianship, advocacy services, state/local licensure agencies and protective interventions.
18. To have impartial access to the medical resources of the hospital indicated for your care without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, handicap or source of payment.
19. To refuse to participate in medical training programs and research projects.
20. On request, made within thirty days of either discharge or payment, to receive a hospital bill which is itemized and describes briefly but clearly each item and the amount charged.
21. To expect all communications and records pertaining to your care, including the source of payment for treatment, to be kept confidential, to the extent required by law.
22. To have any concerns resolved through the hospital with access to the Patient Representatives at 240-826-6513. If your concerns are not resolved by the hospital to your satisfaction, we encourage you to contact the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene at 1-877-463-3464 or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at 1-877-267-2323 (www.cms.hhs.gov) or The Joint Commission at 1-800-944-6610 (www.jointcommission.org).

YOU, IN TURN, HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY:

1. To provide, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, medications, past illnesses, hospitalization and other matters relating to you health care.
2. To provide information about Advance Directives; giving directions about your future medical health care should you become incapable of participation in such discussions.
3. To ask questions about your treatment, diagnosis or prognosis and tell your doctor or nurse about a change in your condition or problems that arise.
4. To be considerate of the rights of other patients and the rights of hospital personnel, to assist in control of noise and to follow the hospital’s non-smoking, visitor and other rules.
5. To follow hospital rules and regulations.
6. To be cooperative and considerate during the treatment and care prescribed.
7. To respect privacy of other patients.
8. To accept your financial obligations associated with your care.
9. To advise your nurse/physician and/or Patient Representative of any dissatisfaction you may have in regard to your care at the hospital.