Patient Rights & Responsibilities

TMC Health Patient Rights & Responsibilities

While a TMC Health patient, you and/or your representative have the following rights:

• At the time of admission or service, access to a written copy of TMC Health’s Patient Rights and Responsibilities.

• Treatment with dignity, respect, and consideration.

• Treatment that supports and respects your rights to individuality, choices, strengths, abilities, and personal liberty, only restricting your liberty according to a court order, your consent or as permitted by law.

• Competent and quality care.

• Appropriate physical and mental health services based on your individual needs.

• Timely and patient-appropriate pain and symptom management.

• Knowledge of the names and roles of the people treating you.

• Access to Protective Services as needed.

• Participate in the discussion of ethical questions that might arise in your care, including access to patient advocates and available ethics committees.

• Necessary health services to the best of TMC Health’s ability. Treatment, referral or transfer to another provider, facility or service may be recommended. If transfer is recommended or requested, you will be informed of risks, benefits, and alternatives. In the event of a facility transfer, you will not be transferred until the receiving institution agrees to accept you.

• Knowledge of realistic care alternatives when current care is no longer appropriate.

• Referral to another health care institution or provider if TMC Health is not authorized or not able to provide the physical or behavioral health services you need.

• When at a TMC Health hospital, a discharge planning evaluation upon request.

• When at a TMC Health hospital, have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician notified promptly, upon request, of your admission to the hospital.

• Actively participate in the development and implementation of your plan of care, including participation in individual service plan meetings when at a TMC Health hospital, TMC - Hospice and Senior Life Solutions at Northern Cochise Community Hospital.

• Designate a representative to make decisions about your medical care on your behalf should you be unable to make those decisions yourself. Should you appoint a representative, he/she will be informed of your rights and will be included in discussions concerning your care.

• Provide an Advance Directive, such as a Living Will or Health Care Power of Attorney. These documents express your choices about future care or name someone to make decisions for you if you cannot decide for yourself. If you have a written Advance Directive, you should provide a copy to TMC Health, your family and your providers. During certain procedures, your Advance Directive may be suspended. Your provider will be able to provide you with further information prior to your Advance Directive being suspended.

• Receive information about your illness, condition, possible treatments, likely outcomes, and goals. You also have the right to discuss all this information with your provider. You have the right to access this information in the language and manner you prefer. TMC Health provides free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with those involved in their care. Patients who are deaf and/or speech impaired will be provided free sign language interpretation services via video and/or in-person interpretation as available.

• Consent to or refuse treatment, as permitted by law. If you refuse a recommended treatment, you will receive other needed and available care to which you consent. You have the right to withdraw consent at any time prior to TMC Health acting upon your consent.

• Except in an emergency, receive information about alternatives to psychotropic medications or surgical procedures and associated risks and possible complications of a proposed psychotropic medication or surgical procedure.

• Choose your attending physician.

• Experience your living and dying in your own way.

• Expect that your body will be treated in a respectful manner before and after your death.

• Access counseling services for you, your family, and other people caring for you.

• Services covered under your hospice care benefit;

• The scope and limitations of services provided by TMC Hospice; and

• Management and disposal of controlled medications in the home.

• Designate a representative to assist you.

• You have the right to a dignified existence, self-determination, and communication with and access to persons and service inside and outside the facility.

• Receive a written Interdisciplinary Care Meeting documentation that sets forth the services you will receive.

• Have access to a case manager to assist you in obtaining services you need.

• You have the right to choose an attending physician. You have the right to be informed if the physician you have chosen is unable or unwilling to be your attending physician, and to have alternative physicians discussed with you, and to honor your preferences, if any, in identifying options.

• You have the right to be informed of the name, specialty, and way of contacting your physician and other primary care professionals responsible for your care.

• You have the right to retain and use personal possessions, including furnishings and clothing as space permits, unless doing so would infringe upon the rights of the health and safety of other patients.

• Have access to stationery, postage, and writing instruments at the resident’s own expense

• You have the right to participate in or refuse to participate in experimental research.

• You have the right to formulate an advance directive.

• You have the right to be informed, in advance, of changes to your plan of care.

• You have the right to share a room with your spouse when your spouse is in the same facility.

• You have the right to immediate access by immediate family and other relatives, subject to your right to deny or withdraw consent at any time.

• Freedom from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender identification, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or diagnosis.

• Freedom from all forms of abuse or harassment, including neglect, exploitation, coercion, manipulation, sexual abuse, and sexual assault.

• Freedom from seclusion or restraint of any form that is not medically necessary or is used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation.

• Freedom from misappropriation of personal and private property.

• Investigation and reporting of any allegation of mistreatment, neglect, misappropriation, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse.

• Personal Privacy

• Protection of your privacy by your providers and others caring for you.

• The right to personal privacy.

• Consent to the taking of recordings, films, or other images except for purposes of security, identification or as otherwise permitted by law.

Confidentiality of Patient Records

• Confidentiality of treatment and financial records unless you have given permission to release information or when disclosure is required or permitted by law.

• Access to your medical records and the right to request an explanation of your medical record information, except when restricted by law.

• Review, upon written request, your own medical record according to A.R.S. §§12-2293, 12-2294, and 12-2294.01.

Care in a Safe Setting

• Freedom from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender orientation, gender identification, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or diagnosis.

• Freedom from all forms of abuse or harassment, including neglect, exploitation, coercion, manipulation, sexual abuse, and sexual assault.

• Freedom from seclusion or restraint of any form that is not medically necessary or is used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation.

• Freedom from misappropriation of personal and private property.

• The right to have an investigation and reporting of any allegation of mistreatment, neglect, misappropriation, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse.

Social

• Respect for cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal values, beliefs, and preferences.

• Participate in cultural and religious customs and activities, so long as such activities are neither prohibited by law or regulation nor contraindicated by your plan of care.

• Access to spiritual counseling and assistance in obtaining such counseling.

Visitation

• Choose who may, or may not, visit you or accompany you to visits, including the choice to change your mind at any time. TMC Health may impose reasonable restrictions or limitations on visitation, which may be required to protect the health and safety of all patients.

Other

• Access to information about TMC Health scheduled rates, fees, charges, and payment methods.

• Knowledge of TMC Health relationships with outside parties that may influence your treatment and care.

• Consent to or decline to take part in research. If you choose not to take part, you will continue to receive the most effective care TMC Health provides.

• Access to TMC Health resources, such as the Patient Relations, hospital leadership, and the Medical Ethics Committee, which are designed to help you resolve problems and answer questions about your care.

While a TMC Health patient, you and/or your representative and all visitors have the following responsibilities:

• Provide accurate and complete information, as appropriate and to the best of your knowledge, about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters relating to your health.

• Report perceived concerns about your care and any unexpected changes in your condition to your healthcare providers and other healthcare team members.

• Provide feedback regarding your service needs and expectations.

• Ask questions when you do not understand your care, treatment, services, or expectations.

• Follow instructions regarding the care and treatment plans developed with you.

• Express any concerns about your ability to follow proposed care and treatment plans or course of treatment and services. TMC Health adapts plans to the specific needs and limitations of each patient. When modifications to care and treatment plans are not recommended, patients are informed of the consequences of not following the proposed course.

• Accept consequences for medical outcomes when you do not follow care and treatment plans.

• Follow TMC Health rules and policies.

• Refrain from taking pictures, videos or otherwise making any recordings on TMC Health premises of employees, providers, volunteers, students, residents, patients, or visitors, without consent from TMC Health and permission from those individuals to be filmed.

• Show respect and consideration for TMC Health staff and property, as well as other patients and their property.

• Refrain from using any means of verbal, implied or physical intimidation, aggression, violence, or threat of any retaliation or violence toward any staff member, patient, or visitor of TMC Health including the possession or use of weapons or anything that can be used as a weapon while at TMC Health.

• Meet financial commitments agreed upon with TMC Health.

Addressing Concerns, Problems and Grievances