The Patients Bill of Rights

1. The Patients Bill of Rights The following was adopted by the US Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry in 1998.

2. What is it? The patients rights encompass legal and ethical issues the provider-patient relationship, including a person’s right to privacy, the right to quality medical care without prejudice, the right to make informed decisions about care and treatment options, and the right to refuse treatment.

3. The purpose of the Bill of Rights The purpose of delineating patient rights is to ensure the ethical treatment of persons receiving medical or other professional health care services. Without exception, all persons in all settings are entitled to receive ethical treatment.

4. The Patients Bill of Rights • Information Disclosure. You have the right to accurate and easily understood information about your health plan, health care professionals, and health care facilities. • Choice of Providers and Plans. You have the right to a choice of health care providers that is sufficient to provide you with access to appropriate high-quality health care. • Access to Emergency Services. If you have severe pain, an injury, or sudden illness that convinces you that your health is in serious jeopardy, you have the right to receive screening

5. Cont…. • and stabilization emergency services whenever and wherever needed, without prior authorization or financial penalty. • Participation in Treatment Decisions. You have the right to know your treatment options and to participate in decisions about your care. • Respect and Nondiscrimination. You have the right to considerate, respectful and nondiscriminatory care from your doctors, health plan representatives, and other health care providers.

6. Cont…. • Confidentiality of Health Information. You have the right to talk in confidence with health care providers and to have your health care information protected. You also have the right to review and copy your own medical record. • Complaints and Appeals. You have the right to a fair, fast, and objective review of any complaint about waiting times, operating hours, the conduct of health care personnel, and the adequacy of health care facilities.

7. Confidentiality While health care providers and patients assume that medical records are private, the widespread use of computer transmissions opens the potential for seriously compromising patient confidentiality. Regulations recently imposed by the federal govt. are aimed at protecting patient records by creating limits on the methods in which medical information is shared. Direct authorization from a patient must be gained before information may be released. Criminal and civil penalties may be imposed for a privacy violation. Intentional disclosure of a private information can bring a $50,000 fine and 1 year in prison. Penalties for selling medical information are higher. These rules became enforceable February 2003.

8. Liability This protects employers against liability. This bipartisan compromise legislation clearly states that employers cannot be held responsible for the actions of managed care companies unless they actively made the decision to deny a health care service to a patient. It ensures that only those few companies (less than 5 percent nationwide) that act as health care insurers and directly participate in the decisions to deny a health care benefit to a patient accept legal responsibility.

9. Malpractice Malpractice liability and the cost and quality of care have a close relationship. Research shows that increases in malpractice liability lead to more “defensive medicine”..precautionary treatments with minimal medical benefit administered out of fear of legal liability. This is true even in areas with high levels of managed care enrollment. Increases in liabilitycause doctors to practice defensively by affecting the “malpractice pressure” that they face. Such as the probability of, level of compensation paid to, the time spent on, and the amount of conflict involved with defending a malpractice claim.

11. Assignment Research and find a legal case where the patient’s bill of rights was violated by a healthcare worker. Give a summary of the case including, what the accusation says they did, any arguments the accuser made on their own behalf, the court’s decision, any penalties, and your opinion on the case. You should have at least 3 paragraphs. Please use complete sentences and turn in by the end of class.