Patient’s Rights upon Hospital Stay

A hospital is a place where doctors and nurses treat patients in order to have their health status and condition back to normal. Unfortunately, some hospitals fail to treat their patients well. They make prescription errors, mix some medications, and nurses and doctors mistakenly or sometimes neglect their duties and responsibilities which in turn enable patients’ lives at risk.

Section 381.026 explains the patient’s rights and responsibilities upon his stay in the hospital. This statute refers to what patients have to expect and what they need to do in order to have a harmonious stay as they are treated in the hospital.

Patient’s Rights

• Any patient has to be treated with respect and courtesy. Furthermore, regardless of his race, gender, age, or economic status, he has the right to be treated accordingly, with dignity, appreciation and with protection of privacy.
• Whenever patients ask for questions and requests, they have the right to be given a reasonable answer promptly.
• During the time the patient is treated in the hospital, he has the right to have knowledge on who is responsible and providing medical service.
• Since the decree refers to all the patients confined in the hospital, this means patients who do not speak English have the right to be given support service including an interpreter. Communication is the main tool in order to treat patients and bring back their normal condition.
• Any patient has the right to know the rules and the regulations that apply to his conduct.
• Hospitals or health care providers need to inform the patients any doctor’s diagnosis, planned course of treatment, risks, alternatives and prognosis. Therefore at this point, any doctor, nurse or any health care provider employee who fails to do their duties and responsibilities are subject to any complaint.
• Patients have the right to refuse any treatment or procedure offered by doctors except as otherwise it is provided by the law.
• These patients have the right to be given a detailed complete information and necessary counseling whenever it is available. In addition, they have also the right to be informed of any detailed information on the costs of the treatment suggested.
• If and only if the patient is covered with Medicare, he has the right to know whether the hospital accepts the Medicare assignment rate.
• In connection to the patient’s right mentioned above, these patients have the right to be given information on how much is the estimated expenses and charges on the treatment.
• He also has the right to have a copy of the detailed and understandable itemized bill whenever it is requested. If in any case, they ask for the charges to be explained, patients have the right to have their requests granted.
• Any emergency medical condition has to be treated; otherwise, failure to provide treatment is a violation to the decree.
• Patients have the right to be informed if any treatment conducted is for research or experimental purposes. They have the right to refuse or to accept and participate in such treatment.
• Lastly, patients have the right to express their complaints with regard to any violation of their rights.

Whenever each right has been violated, patients can always contact an experienced accident attorney in order to assess them in filing a complaint.