Patient Rights and Responsibilities AAAHC

Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Sleep Centers

Baptist Health believes it’s important for you to take an active part in your healthcare. By becoming familiar with your Patient Rights and Responsibilities, you can better participate in your care and act as a vital part of the healthcare team. If you have any questions or concerns about your rights and responsibilities, please call any of the numbers listed on the back.

Patient Rights

As a patient you have the right to:

• be treated with courtesy and respect for your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual and personal values, beliefs and preferences, as well as with appreciation of individual dignity and protection of privacy and informational confidentiality within the law;
• a prompt and reasonable response to questions and requests;
• have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to the facility/center;
• change providers if other qualified providers are available;
• know what patient support services are available, including access to a phone for private telephone conversations, interpreters, translators and resources for the disabled;
• impartial access to medical treatment or accommodation regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and sources of payment;
• treatment for any emergency medical condition that will get worse from failure to provide treatment;
• know what rules and regulations apply to your conduct;
• be given information concerning the diagnosis, prognosis, planned course of treatment, benefits, risks and alternatives presented in a language and manner you can understand;
• have your family involved in decision making with permission from you or your surrogate;
• the presence of support individuals of your choice, unless their presence infringes on others’ rights or safety, or is medically or therapeutically contraindicated;
• appropriate assessment and management of your pain, and to be involved in decisions about managing pain;
• be free from all forms of abuse, neglect, and/or harassment;
• initiate or amend an advance healthcare directive;
• participate in decisions about your care at the end of life with competent attention to your physical, psychosocial, spiritual and cultural needs;
• refuse any treatment, except as otherwise provided by law;
• know if medical treatment is for a clinical trial and to give your informed consent or refusal to participate in experimental research;
• information about accessing protective services if you feel you are in physical danger, or have been abused, neglected or exploited by anyone, including family members, visitors, other patients, staff, students or volunteers. Contact the social worker through the facility/center operator by dialing “0”;
• receive, upon request, prior to treatment, a reasonable estimate of charges for medical care;
• receive, upon request, information and counseling on the availability of known financial resources for your care;
• know, upon request, in advance of treatment, whether the healthcare provider or facility accepts the Medicare assignment rate if you are eligible for Medicare;
• receive, upon request, a copy of a reasonably clear and understandable itemized bill and to have the charges explained;
• access the Ethics Committee and the option to participate in the process to resolve ethical issues. Contact the Ethics Committee through the facility/center operator by dialing “0”;
• expect reasonable safety insofar as the facility/center practices and environment permit;
• consult with a specialist, at your request and expense;
• receive a complete explanation about the need for or alternative to a transfer (transfer must be acceptable to the other facility);
• be informed by your healthcare provider of continuing healthcare requirements after your discharge;
• express a complaint or grievance regarding safety, quality of care or any violation of your rights as stated in Florida law, through the grievance procedure at this Baptist Health facility, to the appropriate state licensing agency or accrediting body.

Patient Responsibilities

As a patient, you are responsible for:

• providing accurate and complete information about present physical complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications and other matters relating to your health;
• reporting unexpected changes in your condition to your doctors and nurses;
• reporting your pain and working with the staff to manage your pain;
• asking questions if you do not understand your treatment or what is expected of you;
• having a responsible adult to provide transportation home and to remain with you as directed by the provider or as indicated on discharge instructions;
• following the treatment plan recommended by the facility/center staff and/or physicians;
• your actions if you refuse treatment or do not follow the healthcare provider’s instructions;
• thoughtful consideration of your wishes about end-of-life care and for communicating those wishes through advance directives;
• providing accurate insurance and payment information to the facility/center and physicians at the time of registration or service;
• complying with the ambulatory surgery center/sleep facility’s/center’s rules and regulations affecting patient care and conduct;
• ensuring that the financial obligations of your healthcare are fulfilled as promptly as possible;
• being considerate of the rights of other patients and facility/center personnel and for assisting in the control of noise and the number of visitors;
• being respectful of the property of other people and the facility/center;
• keeping appointments and, when unable to do so for any reason, notifying your healthcare provider or doctor’s office;
• safeguarding your belongings (valuables should be sent home or to the Security Office or stored at the facility).

*Patient Experience Office numbers:

Baptist Health is committed to addressing your concerns about patient care and safety, and requests that you contact the Patient Experience Office at 786-596-3750 or email BOSPatientExperience@BaptistHealth.net.

If you are a patient at Baptist Health Surgery Center Coral Gables, please contact the Patient Experience Office at 786-308-3193.

Write or call the Agency for Health Care Administration, Consumer Assistance Unit, 2727 Mahan Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32308. Phone 888-419-3456.

In addition to filing complaints with the accrediting bodies set forth in this Patient Rights and Responsibilities document, you can visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s Office of the Medicare Ombudsman: Medicare.gov/Basics/Your-Medicare-Rights/Get-Help-With-Your-Rights-Protections.

Baptist Health ambulatory surgery centers are accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and our sleep centers by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). If there is a concern about patient care and safety at any of our facilities, AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement asks that you first contact the Patient Experience Office. If you believe the concerns have not been resolved, please notify the AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement in writing at 3 Parkway North, Suite 201 in Deerfield, IL 60015; by fax at 847-853-9028; by email at Info@AAAHC.org; or by calling 847-853-6060.

For sleep center-related complaints, you may contact American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) at AASM.org/Contact-Us. You can file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal, available at OCRPortal.HHS.gov.