Patient Rights & Responsibilities
These patient rights and responsibilities are made on behalf of the Board
of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (“University”) and
OU Medicine, Inc. (“OUMI”). The University and OUMI are separate
legal entities.
The University includes OU Physicians, OU Children’s Physicians,
(OU Health Physicians), Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, the OU College of
Dentistry Faculty Practice and Resident Clinic (OU Health Dentistry),
the Allied Health Clinic, OU Pharmacies, and the Fran and Earl Ziegler
College of Nursing Case Management Program.
OU Health Physicians Patient Rights
OU Physicians (OU Health Physicians) is dedicated to providing you with
the best in health care. Along with technical expertise, we want to provide
you with a positive patient experience. We respect your rights as a patient
and want you to understand your responsibility as a partner in your care.
These rights may be exercised by all patients who may legally self-consent
for care or other person authorized to act on the patient's behalf, and
they accept these patient responsibilities as well.
You have the right to:
- Health care regardless of age, race, gender, religion, disability, national
origin, or sexual orientation.
- Respect for personal dignity and privacy.
- Confidentiality of medical records: state and federal law forbids the release
of your medical records without your written consent, except in specific
situations where law requires OU Physicians to release information.
- Know the identity of the health care professional providing services.
- Expect diagnosis, prognosis, and method(s) of treatment to be explained clearly.
- Be informed about any risk of serious side effects.
- Participate in decisions involving your health care, including managing
pain effectively.
- Know what alternatives exist for health care and treatment.
- Refuse medical care (except in specific situations as required by law).
- A second opinion.
- Know if treatment involves experimental or research protocols and the right
to refuse participation.
- Express your concerns, if these rights have not been met.
You have the responsibility to:
- Keep appointments as scheduled, or notify us in advance if you are unable to do so.
- Provide, to the best of your knowledge, accurate information relating to
health history and current health status.
- Cooperate in the treatment plan recommended by those primarily responsible
for your care.
- Consult your medical care provider if your health problem doesn't follow
the expected course.
- Accept personal responsibility for refusing treatment.
- Abide by the health center and clinic regulations and policies.
- Respect the rights of OU Physicians personnel, other patients and visitors.
- Ask adequate questions to ensure understanding of your health problem and
treatment.
- Parents and guardians have the responsibility to ensure that your child
follows the course of treatment.
- Recognize that you make decisions daily that impact your personal health
and treatment.
- Accept financial responsibility for services received, and provide information
necessary to obtain insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or other third-party payments.
Note: If you believe that your patient rights have not been met, contact
the clinic/nurse manager in the clinic at which you received care.
OU Health Hospital Patient Rights
Patients Rights & Responsibilities for OU Medicine, Inc. (includes
the University of Oklahoma Medical Center, The Children’s Hospital,
and the OU Health Edmond Medical Center, and Breast Health Network locations)
OU Medicine, Inc., 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 patient/clients
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
- The right to be informed of the names and functions of all physicians and
other health care professionals who are providing direct care to the patient
- The right to be informed about any continuing health care requirements
after his/her discharge from the hospital. 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 the hospital 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 devices
- To formulate advance directives and have hospital staff and practitioners
who provide care in the hospital comply with these directives
- To leave the healthcare facility 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 the hospitals’
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, patient units where a patient is immunosuppressed or in isolation)
- To pastoral counseling and to take part in religious and/or social activities
while in the hospital, unless your doctor thinks these activities are
not medically advised
- To safe, secure and sanitary accommodation and a nourishing, well balanced
and varied diet
- To access people outside the facility by means of verbal and written communication
- To have accessibility to facility buildings and grounds. [Insert facility
name] 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, patients have the right to obtain
copies of their medical records
Ethical Decisions
- To participate 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 2
- If the healthcare facility 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
- The patient who receives treatment for mental illness or developmental
disability, in addition to the rights listed herein, has the rights provided
by any applicable state law
- To all legal and civil rights as a citizen unless otherwise prescribed by law
- To have upon request 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 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 3
- To request a transfer to another room if another patient or a visitor in
the room is unreasonably disturbing him/her
- To request pet visitation except where animals are specifically prohibited
pursuant to the facility’s policies (e.g., operating rooms, patient
units where a patient is immunosuppressed or in isolation)
Patient Responsibilities
The care a patient receives depends partially on the patient him/herself.
Therefore, in addition to the above rights, a patient has certain responsibilities.
These should be presented to the patient in the spirit of mutual trust
and respect.
- To provide accurate and complete information concerning his/her health
status, medical history, hospitalizations, medications and other matters
related to his/her health
- To report perceived risks in his/her care and unexpected changes in his/her
condition to the responsible practitioner
- To report comprehension of a contemplated course of action and what is
expected of the patient, and to ask questions when there is a lack of
understanding
- To follow the plan of care established by his/her physician, including
the instructions of nurses and other health professionals as they carry
out the physician’s orders
- To keep appointments or notifying the facility or physician when he/she
is unable to do so
- To be responsible for his/her actions should he/she refuse treatment or
not follow his/her physician’s orders
- To assure that the financial obligations of his/her healthcare care are
fulfilled as promptly as possible
- To follow facility policies, procedures, rules and regulations
- To be considerate of the rights of other patients and facility personnel
- To be respectful of his/her personal property and that of other persons
in the facility
- To help staff to assess pain, request relief promptly, discuss relief options
and expectations with caregivers, work with caregivers to develop a pain
management plan, tell staff when pain is not relieved, and communicate
worries regarding pain medication
- To inform the facility of a violation of patient rights or any safety concerns,
including perceived risk in his/her care and unexpected changes in their condition
Statement of Visitation Rights
OU Medicine, Inc. 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 hospital visiting
regulations) unless a doctor does not think it is medically advised
- To refuse visitors
- Media representatives and photographers must contact the hospital spokesperson
for access to the hospital