At Gifford Health Care, we view health care as a partnership between you and your caregivers. We respect your rights, values and dignity. We also ask that you recognize the responsibilities that come with being a patient, both for your own well-being as well as for that of your fellow patients and caregivers. Should you have any questions, please call our Patient Relations Specialist at 728–2433.

View our Compliments, Questions, and Complaint Process here

Patient Bill of Rights

Rights related to the people caring for you in the hospital

You have a right to:

• Know the name and profession of every person who takes care of you, and who is in charge of your care;
• Have one provider (your “attending provider”) who is responsible for coordinating your hospital care, and to know the provider’s name;
• Know the professional relationships among the people caring for you;
• Know whether the people caring for you or the care they are providing is connected in some way to another health care institution;
• Know whether the people caring for you are doing so as part of an educational or training program;
• Refuse to participate in clinical training of students; and
• Know how many patients can be on the unit where you are hospitalized, and how many registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and licensed nursing assistants provide direct care to patients on each shift.

Rights related to your care and treatment in the hospital

You have a right to:

• Care that is always considerate, respectful and that recognizes your personal dignity;
• Professional assessment and management of pain;
• Be transferred to another facility only if it is medically safe;
• Be transferred to another facility only after a full explanation of the reasons for the transfer and any other options;
• Not be transferred until it is certain that the other facility can accept you;
• A plan that continues to meet your health care needs, whether you move to different units in the hospital or are discharged;
• Be given written information about who is eligible for hospice services, and where and how to receive them; and
• Know what health care you will need after you leave the hospital.

Personal privacy, dignity and confidentiality

You have a right to:

• Privacy;
• Strict confidentiality of all information and records about your medical care. Only people who are directly providing or overseeing your care, and those monitoring or researching the quality or effectiveness of your care can see your records. Anybody else must have your written permission;
• Decide whether anyone not directly involved with your care should be present;
• Have a person of your own sex or a support person present during parts of a physical examination, treatment or procedure performed by a health care professional;
• Not be undressed longer than is necessary for a medical procedure; and
• Wear appropriate personal clothing and religious or other symbolic items if they do not interfere with your care.

Rights related to needs or questions you may have while in the hospital

You have a right to:

• Have your parent or guardian stay with you 24 hours a day when possible if you are a child;
• Have your immediate family member, guardian, agent or reciprocal beneficiary stay with you 24 hours a day if you are terminally ill;
• An interpreter if you have difficulty understanding or discussing your care or treatment due to language differences or hearing impairment;
• Know what hospital rules and regulations apply to you while you are in the hospital;
• Receive an itemized, detailed and understandable explanation of hospital charges whether or not you are paying the bill directly and be provided with information about financial assistance and billing and collections practices;
• Expect the hospital to respond reasonably to your requests for services if it is able; and
• Be moved to another room or place if unreasonable actions by another person are disturbing you, if a move is physically possible.

Rights related to your health care decisions

You have a right to:

• Complete and current information about your condition from your provider, in a way you can understand it, including diagnoses, treatment and prognosis;
• Have information about your condition given to immediate family members, a reciprocal beneficiary or a guardian, only when you give permission, are incompetent or unable to understand, or when it is not medically advisable to give you the information directly;
• Get all of the information you need from your provider to be able to give informed consent, before you give permission to have any procedure or treatment, unless it is an emergency. You have a right to know at least:
  • Specific procedures and treatments that will happen,
  • Their medically significant risks,
  • The medically significant options and alternatives for care and treatment,
  • How long it is likely you will feel the effects of the procedures and treatments, and
  • The name of the person(s) responsible for providing the procedures and treatments;
• Refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law;
• Be informed of what can happen medically if you do refuse treatment. If you do refuse treatment, the hospital will not be responsible;
• Be informed if the hospital plans any research or experimentation affecting your care or treatment; and
• Refuse to participate in any research or experimentation affecting your care or treatment.

As a Patient, you have the Responsibility to:

• Keep your appointments or notify Gifford ahead of time when you cannot;
• Be considerate of other patients and Gifford personnel by respecting their privacy and by limiting visitors;
• Observe safety regulations and respect our smoke-free environment;
• Supply complete and accurate information to appropriate personnel and report unexpected changes in your condition to your health care providers;
• Ask questions if medical explanations or instructions are not clear;
• Follow the treatment plan decided upon by you and your health care team. If you are unable/unwilling to follow the plan of care, you are responsible for telling your care provider, who will explain the medical consequences;
• Adopt a healthy lifestyle on your own to prevent illness.
• Be aware of what your health care insurance does and does not cover and ensure that your financial obligations are fulfilled as promptly as possible; and
• Prepare an advance directive and/or make your end-of-life decisions known to your provider, including wishes regarding organ donation.

Privacy

See our Notice of Health Information Privacy Practices.

Updated: 11/19