Patient Rights

Patient’s Bill of Rights

Section 381.026, Florida Statutes

A PATIENT HAS THE RIGHT TO:

Be treated with courtesy and respect, with appreciation of his or her dignity, and with protection of privacy.
Receive a prompt and reasonable response to questions and requests.
Know who is providing medical services and is responsible for his or her care.
Know what patient support services are available, including if an interpreter is available if the patient does not speak English.
Know what rules and regulations apply to his or her conduct.
Be given by the health care provider information such as diagnosis, planned course of treatment, alternatives, risks, and prognosis.
Refuse any treatment, except as otherwise provided by law.
Be given full information and necessary counseling on the availability of known financial resources for care.
Know whether the health care provider or facility accepts the Medicare assignment rate, if the patient is covered by Medicare.
Receive prior to treatment, a reasonable estimate of charges for medical care.
Receive a copy of an understandable itemized bill and, if requested, to have the charges explained.
Receive medical treatment or accommodations, regardless of race, national origin, religion, handicap, or source of payment.
Receive treatment for any emergency medical condition that will deteriorate from failure to provide treatment.
Know if medical treatment is for purposes of experimental research and to give his or her consent or refusal to participate in such research.
Express complaints regarding any violation of his or her rights.

The Patient’s Right to Decide

Every competent adult has the right to make decisions concerning his or her own health, including the right to choose or refuse medical treatment.

When a person becomes unable to make decisions due to a physical or mental change, such as being in a coma or developing dementia (like Alzheimer’s disease), they are considered incapacitated. Only your primary physician can determine if you are incapacitated. To make sure that an incapacitated person’s decisions about health care will still be respected, the Florida legislature enacted legislation pertaining to health care advance directives (Chapter 765, Florida Statutes). The law recognizes the right of a competent adult to make an advance directive instructing his or her physician to provide, withhold, or withdraw life-prolonging procedures; to designate another individual to make treatment decisions if the person becomes unable to make his or her own decisions; and/or to indicate the desire to make an anatomical donation after death. Additionally, the law states that you do not have to be incapacitated to elect a health care surrogate to make your decisions.

By law hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are required to provide their patients with written information, such as this pamphlet, concerning health care advance directives. The state rules that require this include 58A-2.0232, 59A-3.254, 59A-4.106, 59A-8.0245, and 59A-12.013, Florida Administrative Code.

We respect our patients’ dignity and pride. This document will explain your patient rights and responsibilities. It is part of your patient registration and is an important part of your health care plan.

Coastal Surgery Center respects the dignity and pride of each individual we serve. Every patient has the right to have his/her rights respected without regard to age, gender, disability, race, color, ancestry, citizenship, religion, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, payment source or ability, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law.

Each individual shall be informed of the patient’s rights and responsibilities in advance of administering or discontinuing patient care. We adopt and affirm as policy the following rights of patients who receive services from our facilities:

Considerate and Respectful Care

To receive ethical, high-quality, safe and professional care without discrimination
To be free from all forms of abuse and harassment
To be treated with consideration, respect and recognition of their individuality, including the need for privacy in treatment. This includes the right to request the facility provide a person of one’s own gender to be present during certain parts of physical examinations, treatments or procedures performed by a health professional of the opposite sex, except in emergencies, and the right not to remain undressed any longer than is required for accomplishing the medical purpose for which the patient was asked to undress

Information regarding Health Status and Care

To be informed of his/her health status in terms that patient can reasonably be expected to understand, and to participate in the development and the implementation of his/her plan of care and treatment
To be informed of the names and functions of all physicians and other healthcare professionals who are providing direct care to the patient
To be informed about any continuing health care requirements after his/her discharge from Coastal Surgery Center, and each patient will be provided with written discharge instructions and when necessary, overnight supplies. The patient shall also have the right to receive assistance from the physician and appropriate hospital staff in arranging for required follow-up care after discharge.
To be informed of risks, benefits and side effects of all medications and treatment procedures, particularly those considered innovative or experimental
To be informed of all appropriate alternative treatment procedures
To be informed of the outcomes of care, treatment and services
To appropriate assessment and management of pain
To be informed if Coastal Surgery Center has authorized other health care and/or education institutions to participate in the patient’s treatment. The patient shall also have a right to know the identity and function of these institutions, and may refuse to allow their participation in his/her treatment

Decision Making and Notification

To choose a person to be his/her healthcare representative and/or decision maker. The patient may also exercise his/her right to exclude any family members from participating in his/her healthcare decisions.
To have a family member, chosen representative and/or his or her own physician notified promptly of admission to the hospital
To request or refuse treatment. This right must not be construed as a mechanism to demand the provision of treatment or services deemed medically unnecessary or inappropriate
To be included in experimental research only when he or she gives informed, written consent to such participation. The patient may refuse to participate in experimental research, including the investigations of new drugs and medical device
To formulate advance directives and be informed prior to receiving treatment how Coastal Surgery Center will or will not comply with these directives
To leave Coastal Surgery Center against your physician’s advice to the extent permitted by law

Access to Services

To receive, as soon as possible, the services of a translator and/or interpreter, telecommunications devices, and any other necessary services or devices to facilitate communication between the patient and Coastal Surgery Center’s health care personnel
To bring a service animal into the facility, except where service animals are specifically prohibited pursuant to facility policy (e.g., operating rooms, areas where invasive procedures are performed, etc.)
To pastoral counseling and to take part in religious and/or social activities while in Coastal Surgery Center, unless your doctor thinks these activities are not medically advised
To safe, secure and sanitary accommodation and limited refreshments prior to discharge
To access people outside the facility by means of verbal and written communication
To have accessibility to facility buildings and grounds.Coastal Surgery Center recognizes the Americans with Disabilities Act, a wide-ranging piece of legislation intended to make American society more accessible to people with disabilities. The policy is available upon request
To a prompt and reasonable response to questions and requests for service

Access to Medical Records

To have his/her medical records, including all computerized medical information, kept confidential and to access information within a reasonable time frame. The patient may decide who may receive copies of the records except as required by law
Upon leaving the healthcare facility and in accordance with the surgery center’s policies regarding records requests, patients have the right to obtain copies of their medical records

Ethical Decisions

To participate prior to receiving treatment in ethical decisions that may arise in the course of care including issues of conflict resolution, withholding resuscitative services, foregoing or withdrawal of life sustaining treatment, and participation in investigational studies or clinical trials

If Coastal Surgery Center or its team decides that the patient’s refusal of treatment prevents him/her from receiving appropriate care according to ethical and professional standards, the relationship with the patient may be terminated

Protective Services

To access protective and advocacy services
To be free from restraints of any form that are not medically necessary or are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by staff
To all legal and civil rights as a citizen unless otherwise prescribed by law
To have upon request to patient’s physician an impartial review of hazardous treatments or irreversible surgical treatments prior to implementation except in emergency procedures necessary to preserve your life
To an impartial review of alleged violations of patient rights
To expect emergency procedures to be carried out without unnecessary delay
To give consent to a procedure or treatment and to access the information necessary to provide such consent
To not be required to perform work for the facility unless the work is part of the patient’s treatment and is done by choice of the patient
To file a complaint with the Department of Health, Federal, State and/or Local Agencies, or other quality improvement, accreditation or other certifying bodies if he /she has a concern about patient abuse, neglect, about misappropriation of a patient’s property in the facility or other unresolved complaint, patient safety or quality concern

Payment and Administration

To examine and receive an explanation of the patient’s healthcare facility’s bill regardless of source of payment, and may receive upon request, information relating to the availability of known financial resources
A patient who is eligible for Medicare has the right to know, upon request and in advance of treatment, whether the health care provider or health care facility accepts the Medicare assignment rate
To receive, upon request, prior to treatment, a reasonable estimate of charges for medical care
To be informed in writing about the facility policies and procedures for initiation, review and resolution of patient complaints, including the address and telephone number of where complaints may be filed

Additional Patient Rights

Except in emergencies, the patient may be transferred to another facility only with a full explanation of the reason for transfer, provisions for continuing care and acceptance by the receiving institution
To initiate their own contact with the media
To get the opinion of another physician, including specialists, at the request and expense of the patient
To wear appropriate personal clothing and religious or other symbolic items, as long a s they do not interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatment
To request a transfer to another area (if medically appropriate) if another patient or a visitor in the room is unreasonably disturbing him/her

PATIENT VISITATION RIGHTS

Coastal Surgery Center recognizes the importance of family, spouses, partners, friends and other visitors in the care process of patients. We adopt and affirm as policy the following visitation rights of patients/clients who receive services from our facilities:

To be informed of their visitation rights, including any clinical restriction or limitation of their visitation rights
To designate visitors, including but not limited to a spouse, a domestic partner (including same sex), family members, and friends. These visitors will not be restricted or otherwise denied visitation privileges on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or disability. All visitors will enjoy full and equal visitation privileges consistent with any clinically necessary or other reasonable restriction or limitation that facilities may need to place on such rights
To receive visits from your attorney, physician or clergyman at any reasonable time
To speak privately with anyone he/she wishes (subject to surgery center visiting regulations) unless a doctor does not think it is medically advised
To refuse visitors

Media representatives and photographers must contact Coastal Surgery Center spokesperson for access to the surgery center.