Patient Rights and Responsibilities

As a patient, you have certain rights and responsibilities. Valley Hospital Medical Center believes that if you understand them, you can contribute to the effectiveness of your treatment and to the quality of patient care.

The following is a list of Patient Rights and Responsibilities, which reflect our concern and commitment to you as a patient and a human being.

Patient Rights

Access To Care

• Impartial access to medically indicated treatment regardless of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin or sources of payment for care or disability (including AIDS and related conditions).
• Expect the hospital to respond to your requests for service, within its capacity, and to provide evaluation, service or referral by the urgency of your care needs.
• Expect the hospital to provide interpretation for individuals who speak languages other than English, use of alternative communication techniques or aides for those who are deaf or blind, or take other steps as needed to effectively communicate with the patient.

Respect and Dignity

• Considerate and respectful care that respects your psychosocial, spiritual and cultural values and beliefs.
• Effective management of pain as appropriate to the medical diagnosis or surgical procedure.
• Consideration of privacy in case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment. You may request transfer to another room if another patient or visitors in that room are unreasonably disturbing to you.
• Expect that all communications and records pertaining to your care be treated as confidential by the hospital, except in cases such as suspected abuse or public health hazards which are required by law to be reported.
• Review your medical records and have information explained or interpreted as necessary, except as restricted by law, within a reasonable time frame.
• Participate in decisions regarding ethical issues surrounding your care including issues of conflict resolution, withholding resuscitation foregoing or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and participation in investigational studies or clinical trials. You may ask your nurse or physician to consult the Ethics Committee for resolution of conflicts in decision-making regarding your care. You may request to see a copy of the hospital’s Patient Rights and Organizational Ethics and the Code of Ethical Behavior Policy if desired.

Transfer and Continuity of Care

• A patient has the right not to be transferred to another facility unless the patient has received a complete explanation of the need for the transfer and of the alternatives to such a transfer and unless the transfer is acceptable to the other facility.
• The patient has the right to be informed by the practitioner responsible for his care of any continuing health care requirements following discharge from the hospital.

Personal Safety

• Be cared for by staff who have been educated about patient rights and their role in supporting these rights.
• Consent or refuse to participate in any treatment that is considered experimental in nature, and to have those studies fully explained prior to consent.
• To receive care in a safe setting.
• To be free from all forms of abuse or harassment.
• To be free from seclusion or restraints of any form that are not medically necessary.
• Access to protective services, if necessary.

Identity

• Know by name the physician responsible for the coordination of your care and the identities of others involved in providing your care.
• Obtain information as to any professional relationships among individuals treating you as well as the relationship between the hospital and other healthcare and educational institutions which may influence your care.

Information

• Obtain information from physicians and other direct caregivers in understandable terms concerning diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and plans for discharge and follow-up care.
• Informed about the outcomes of care, including unanticipated outcomes.
• Obtain information about hospital polices that relate to your care.
• Examine and receive an explanation of your hospital bill, regardless of the source of payment.

Communication

• To have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital.
• To appoint a family member or representative to be a decision-maker for you in the event you are unable to communicate.

Advanced Directive

• Have an advance directive (such as a living will or durable power of attorney for health care) concerning treatment or designating a surrogate decision maker with the expectation that the hospital will honor that directive to the extent permitted by law.

Consent

• Make decisions about your care and refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and be informed of the medical consequences of such action.
• Participate in the development and implementation of your plan of care.

Grievances

• File a grievance. If you want to file a grievance with this hospital, you may do so by writing Valley Hospital Medical Center, 620 Shadow Lane, Las Vegas 89106.
• The grievance process consists of a review of each grievance by the appropriate personnel and a written response within 60 business days. The written response will contain the steps taken to investigate the grievance, the results of the grievance process, and the date of completion of the grievance process. A quarterly review of the grievances and responses will take place by the Grievance Committee with further action taken if necessary. You may also refer concerns regarding quality of care or premature discharge to the Nevada Peer Review Organization, which is the name of the Peer Review Organization (PRO) authorized by Medicare patients. All senior HMO and Medicare patients receive the “Notice of Discharge Medicare Appeal Rights” form during their hospital stay. Refer to this form for reporting information.

Hospital Charges

• Regardless of the source of payment for care, the patient has the right, upon request, to receive a detailed explanation of the total bill for services rendered in the hospital.
• The patient has the right to timely notice prior to termination of his eligibility for reimbursement by third party payer for the cost of his care.

Patient Responsibilities

As a patient or the guardian of a patient you have the following responsibilities:

• Ask questions about specific problems and request information when you do not understand your illness or treatment.
• Provide accurate and complete medical information to physicians and other caregivers.
• Provide the hospital with a copy of your written advance directive if you have one.
• Follow the treatment plan recommended by physicians and other caregivers, or if treatment is refused, you are responsible for your actions and the medical consequences.
• Consider the rights of all hospital personnel and other patients and ensure that your visitors are considerate in the control of noise, limiting numbers of visitors and abstaining from smoking.
• Respect hospital property and the property of other patients.
• Follow all hospital policies affecting patient care and conduct.
• Provide necessary information to ensure processing of hospital bills and make payment arrangements when necessary.