Patient Rights & Responsibilities
Rights
As a patient, you have a right:
- To prompt lifesaving treatment in an emergency
- To reasonable access to care, including protective services
- To privacy and safety during your medical treatment
- To confidentiality in all your records concerning your medical history and treatment, and access to your records
- To authorize your caregivers to share your personal health information with others you appoint
- To participate in decisions regarding your care and to be informed about outcomes of care
- To care that is considerate and respectful of your personal values and beliefs and reflects the hospital’s values and code of ethics
- To participate in the resolution of questions that arise in the course of your care
- to refuse to be treated by a particular staff member without jeopardizing your access to care
- To receive prompt response to all reasonable requests
- To have your pain appropriately assessed and managed
- To designate a decision maker in case you become incapable of understanding a proposed treatment or procedure or become unable to communicate your wishes regarding care
- To protection of your rights during research, investigation, and clinical trials
- To request and receive an itemized explanation of your hospital bill
- To request and receive information on financial assistance and free health care
- To have an interpreter
Other Helpful Resources
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Department of Public Health (Division of Health Quality Complaint Intake)
67 Forest Street
Marlborough, MA 01752
Website: mass.gov
Telephone: 617-753-8150
Fax: 617-753-8165
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Board of Registration in Medicine (Complaint Intake Unit):
200 Harvard Mill Square, Suite 330
Wakefield, MA 01880
Email: www.mass.gov/massmedboard
Telephone: 781-876-8200
Fax: 781-876-8381
The Joint Commission
1 Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Website: www.jointcommission.org
Fax: 630-792-5636
*To file a report or concern, please call 800-994-6610
Responsibilities
As a patient, you have a responsibility:
- To provide, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, any medications and herbal supplements you are taking, and other matters relating to your health
- To report any unexpected changes in your condition to your doctor
- To provide a copy of your Advanced Directives, if you have them drawn up, and to notify your doctor if you change or revoke these documents
- To ask for an explanation if you do not understand something about your care or what is expected of you
- To follow the treatment plan recommended by the doctor primarily responsible for your care. This includes following the instructions of nurses and allied health personnel as they carry out your coordinated plan of care and enforce hospital rules and regulations
- To keep appointments and when unable to do so for any reason, to notify your doctor or the hospital
- To follow hospital rules and regulations about your care and conduct
- To be considerate of the rights of other patients and hospital personnel; assist in the control of noise and the number of visitors
- To be respectful of property belonging to other people and to the hospital
- To meet, as promptly as possible, and financial obligations that may result from health care services rendered
