Preparing for Your Surgery/Procedure
Additional Information
You Need to KnowMinnesota Outpatient Surgical Center Patient's Bill of Rights
Client Conduct & Responsibilities
Map & Driving Directions
IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE AGENCY OR PERSON PROVIDING YOU OUTPATIENT SURGICAL SERVICES, YOU MAY CALL, WRITE, OR VISIT THE OFFICE OF HEALTH FACILITY COMPLAINTS, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. YOU MAY ALSO CONTACT THE OMBUDSMAN FOR OLDER MINNESOTANS. Minnesota Department Ombudsman for |
Minnesota Outpatient Surgical Center Patients’ Bill of Rights
Purpose
To promote the interests and well being of the patients and residents of health care facilities. No health care facility may require a patient or resident to waive these rights as a condition of admission to the facility. Any guardian or conservator of a patient or resident or, in the absence of a guardian or conservator, an interested person, may seek enforcement of these rights on behalf of a patient or resident. An interested person may also seek enforcement of these rights on behalf of a patient or resident who has a guardian or conservator through administrative agencies or in district court having jurisdiction over guardianships and conservatorships. Pending the outcome of an enforcement proceeding the health care facility may, in good faith, comply with the instructions of a guardian or conservator. It is the intent of this section that every patient's civil and religious liberties, including the right to independent personal decisions and knowledge of available choices, shall not be infringed and that the facility shall encourage and assist in the fullest possible exercise of these rights.
Definitions
"patient" also means a person who receives health care services at an outpatient surgical center.
Information about rights
Patients shall, at admission, be told that there are legal rights for their protection during their stay at the facility or throughout their course of treatment and maintenance in the community and that these are described in an accompanying written statement of the applicable rights and responsibilities set forth in this section. Reasonable accommodations shall be made for those with communication Impairments and those who speak a language other than English. Current facility policies, inspection findings of state and local health authorities, and further explanation of the written statement of rights shall be available to patients, their guardians or their chosen representatives upon reasonable request to the administrator or other designated staff person.
Courteous treatment
Patients have the right to be treated with courtesy and respect for their individuality by employees of or persons providing service in a health care facility.
Appropriate health care
Patients shall have the right to appropriate medical and personal care based on individual needs.
Physician's identity
Patients shall have or be given, in writing, the name, business address, telephone number, and specialty, if any, of the physician responsible for coordination of their care. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient's care record, the information shall be given to the patient's guardian or other person designated by the patient as a representative.
Relationship with other health services
Patients who receive services from an outside provider are entitled, upon request, to be told the identity of the provider. Information shall include the name of the outside provider, the address, and a description of the service which may be rendered. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient's care record, the information shall be given to the patient's guardian or other person designated by the patient as a representative.
Information about treatment
Patients shall be given by their physicians' complete and current information concerning their diagnosis, treatment, alternatives, risks, and prognosis as required by the physician's legal duty to disclose. This information shall be in terms and language the patients can reasonably be expected to understand. Patients may be accompanied by a family member or other chosen representative. This information shall include the likely medical or major psychological results of the treatment and its alternatives. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient's medical record, the information shall be given to the patient's guardian or other person designated by the patient or resident as a representative. Individuals have the right to refuse this information. Every patient suffering from any form of breast cancer shall be fully informed, prior to or at the time of admission and during her stay, of all alternative effective methods of treatment of which the treating physician is knowledgeable, including surgical, radiological, or chemotherapeutic treatments or combinations of treatments and the risks associated with each of those methods.
Right to refuse care
Competent patients shall have the right to refuse treatment. In cases where a patient is incapable of understanding the circumstances but has not been adjudicated incompetent, or when legal requirements limit the right to refuse treatment, the conditions and circumstances shall be fully documented by the attending physician in the patient's medical record.
Experimental research
Written, informed consent must be obtained prior to a patient's participation in experimental research. Patients have the right to refuse participation. Both consent and refusal shall be documented in the individual care record.
Treatment privacy
Patients shall have the right to respectfulness and privacy as it relates to their medical and personal care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination, and treatment are confidential and shall be conducted discreetly. Privacy shall be respected during toileting, bathing, and other activities of personal hygiene, except as needed for patient safety or assistance.
Confidentiality of records
Patients shall be assured confidential treatment of their personal and medical records, and may approve or refuse their release to any individual outside the facility. Copies of records and written information from the records shall be made available in accordance with law. This right does not apply to complaint investigations and inspections by the Department of Health, where required by third party payment contracts, or where otherwise provided by law.
Responsive service
Patients shall have the right to a prompt and reasonable response to their questions and requests.
Personal privacy
Patients shall have the right to every consideration of their privacy, individuality, and cultural identity as related to their social, religious, and psychological well-being. Facility staff shall respect the privacy of a resident's room by knocking on the door and seeking consent before entering, except in an emergency or where clearly inadvisable.
Grievances
Patients shall be encouraged and assisted, throughout their stay in a facility or their course of treatment, to understand and exercise their rights as patients and citizens. Patients may voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services to facility staff and others of their choice, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal, including threat of discharge.