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Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Patient Bill of Rights

At Adventist Health and Rideout Health, we pledge to treat all of our patients fairly and in accordance with the following principles:

Access to Care

  • You have the right to know the name of the licensed healthcare practitioner acting within the scope of his or her professional licensure, who has primary responsibility for coordinating your care, and the names and professional relationships of physicians and non-physicians who will see you.
  • You will be advised if the hospital/licensed healthcare practitioner acting within the scope of his or her professional licensure proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation affecting your care or treatment. You have the right to refuse to participate in such research projects.
  • You may have a family member (or other representative of your choosing) and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital.
  • You have the right to appropriate assessment and management of your pain, information about pain, pain relief measures and to participate in pain management decisions. You may request or reject the use of any or all modalities to relieve pain, including opiate medication, if you suffer from severe chronic intractable pain. The doctor may refuse to prescribe the opiate medication, but if so, must inform you that there are physicians who specialize in the treatment of pain with methods that include the use of opiates.
  • You have the right to reasonable continuity of care and to know in advance the time and location of appointments as well as the identity of the persons providing the care.
  • You will not be denied appropriate care on the basis of sex, economic status, educational background, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identify/expression, disability, medical condition, marital status, age, registered domestic partner status, genetic information, citizenship, primary language, immigration status (except as required by federal law) or the source of payment for care.

Respect and Dignity

  • You have the right to considerate and respectful care, and to be made comfortable.
  • You have the right to respect for your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal values, beliefs and preferences.

Decision Making

  • You have the right to make decisions regarding medical care, and receive as much information about any proposed treatment or procedure as you may need in order to give informed consent or to refuse a course of treatment. Except in emergencies, this information shall include a description of the procedure or treatment, the medically significant risks involved, alternate courses of treatment or non-treatment and the risks involved in each, and the name of the person who will carry out the procedure or treatment.
  • You have the right to request or refuse treatment, to the extent permitted by law. However, you may not demand inappropriate or medically unnecessary treatment or services. You have the right to leave the hospital even against the advice of members of the medical staff, to the extent permitted by law.
  • You have the right to formulate advance directives. This includes designating a decision maker if you become incapable of understanding a proposed treatment or become unable to communicate your wishes regarding care. Hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital shall comply with these directives. All patients’ rights apply to the person who has legal responsibility to make decisions regarding medical care on your behalf.
  • You have the right to be informed by the physician, or a delegate of the physician, of continuing health care requirements and options following discharge from the hospital. You have the right to be involved in the development and implementation of your discharge plan. Upon your request, a friend or family member may be provided this information also.
  • You have the right to designate a support person, as well as visitors of your choosing, to assist you with decision-making. You may have your wishes considered, if you lack decision-making capacity, for the purposes of determining who may visit. The method of that consideration will comply with federal law and be disclosed in the hospital policy on visitation. At a minimum, the hospital shall include any persons living in your household and any support person pursuant to federal law.

Privacy and Confidentiality

  • You have the right to have your personal privacy respected. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly. You have the right to be told the reason for the presence of any individual. You have the right to have visitors leave prior to an examination and when treatment issues are being discussed. Privacy curtains will be used in semi-private rooms.
  • You have the right to confidential treatment of all communications and records pertaining to your care and stay in the hospital. You will receive a separate “Notice of Privacy Practices” that explains your privacy rights in detail and how we may use and disclose your protected health information.

Personal Safety

  • You have the right to receive care in a safe setting, free from mental, physical, sexual or verbal abuse and neglect, exploitation or harassment. You have the right to access protective and advocacy services including notifying government agencies of neglect or abuse.
  • You have the right to be free from restraints and seclusion of any form used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.

Information and Communication

  • You have the right to interpreter services, if you do not speak or understand English.
  • You have the right to receive information about your health status, diagnosis, prognosis, course of treatment, prospects for recovery and outcomes of care (including unanticipated outcomes) in terms you can understand. You have the right to effective communication and to participate in the development and implementation of your plan of care. You have the right to participate in ethical questions that arise in the course of your care, including issues of conflict resolution, withholding resuscitative services, and foregoing or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.
  • You have the right to reasonable responses to any reasonable requests made for service.
  • You have the right to know which hospital rules and policies apply to your conduct while a patient.
  • You have the right to examine and receive an explanation of the hospital’s bill regardless of the source of payment.

Grievances

  • You have the right to know if something goes wrong with your care.
  • You have the right to file a grievance. If you want to file a grievance with this hospital, you may do so by writing or by calling:

Patient Advocate
Risk Management, Rideout Health
726 Fourth Street, Marysville, CA 95901
(530) 749-4361 or (530) 632-0950 (cell)

The grievance committee will review each grievance and provide you with a written response within 7 days. The written response will contain the name of a person to contact at the hospital, the steps taken to investigate the grievance, the results of the grievance process, and the date of completion of the grievance process. Concerns regarding quality of care or premature discharge will also be referred to the Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review (PRO). If the grievance cannot be resolved within 7 days, a letter will be sent to indicate when resolution can be expected. A follow up letter will be sent with the closure information.

This Patient Rights document incorporates the requirements of The Joint Commission; Title 22, California Code of Regulations, Section 70707; Health and Safety Code Sections 1262.6, 1288.4, and 124960; and 42 C.F.R. Section 482.13 (Medicare Conditions of Participation). The Joint Commission’s telephone number and address are:

Joint Commission Resources
1515 West 22nd Street, Suite 1300W
Oak Brook, Illinois 60523
(630) 268-7400

You have the right to file a complaint with the state Department of Public Health regardless of whether you use the hospital’s grievance process. The California Department of Public Health’s phone number and address is:

California Department of Public Health
126 Mission Ranch Boulevard
Chico, CA 95926
(800) 554-0350

Understanding Your Health Record Information

Protecting Your Privacy

Rideout Health adheres to all HIPAA privacy regulations as described in the “Joint Notice of Privacy Practices for Medical Information.”

Your Medical Record

If you would like a copy of your medical record, please call (530) 751-4270 extension 4078 or visit, Adventist Health and Rideout Business Center at 826 4th Street, Marysville.

Each time you visit a hospital, physician or other healthcare provider, the provider makes a record of it. Typically, this record contains your health history, current symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment and a plan for future care or treatment. This information, often referred to as your medical record, serves as a:

  • Basis for planning your care and treatment
  • Means of communication among health professionals who care for you
  • Legal document describing the care you received
  • Means by which you or a third-party can verify that you received the services billed
  • Tool in medical education
  • Source of information for public health officials
  • Tool to assess the appropriateness and quality of care you received
  • Tool to improve the quality of healthcare and achieve better patient outcomes

Understanding what is in your health record
Ensure its accuracy and completeness

  • Understand where, when, why and how others may access your health records
  • Make informed decisions about authorizing disclosure to others
  • Better understand the health information rights

We have a legal duty to safeguard your protected health information
We are legally required to protect the privacy of your health information. We call this information “protected health information,” or “PHI” for short. It includes information that can be used to identify you. We collect or receive this information about your past, present or future health condition to provide health care to you, or to receive payment for this health care. We must provide you with this notice about our privacy practices that explains how, when, and why we use and disclose your health information. With some exceptions, we may not use or disclose any more of your health information than is necessary to accomplish the purpose of the use or disclosure. We are legally required to follow the privacy practices that are described in this notice.