The concept of a Patient Bill of Rights has been around for decades. Congress and other organizations have made several attempts at creating a formal bill of rights, but to no avail. The US Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the HealthCare Industry adopted the Patient Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in 1998. Consequently, this is the most noted version, and variations of it have been posted many times.
The Patient Bill of Rights
The document outlines seven key rights:
- Access to accurate and understandable Information
- Choice in Healthcare Providers
- Access to screening and stabilization emergency services whenever and wherever needed
- Collaboration with a care team in treatment options and decisions
- Respectful, considerate and non-discriminatory care
- Confidentiality among healthcare providers
- A fair, fast and objective review of complaints
Responsibilities
The document also highlights the patient’s responsibility. In a health care system that protects consumer or patients’ rights, patients should expect to take on some responsibilities to get well and/or stay well (for instance, exercising and not using tobacco). Patients must treat healthcare works and other patients with respect. Patients must try to pay their medical bills. Additionally, patients must follow the rules and benefits of their health plan coverage. Patients involved in care increases the chance of the best possible outcomes and helps support a high quality, cost-conscious health care system.
ISeeYouCare believes in and endorses the Patient Bill of Rights. The first right, that of access to your information, serves as the cornerstone of our healthIT platform. As a result, our system is centered around our My eMHR Personal Health Record, which is a patient centered healthcare platform on which all of our other tools are built. Additionally, our system promotes choice for patients to drive second opinions and online collaboration of care. We provide telemedicine tools to improve access. Our platform cannot discriminate. Finally, we secure our data in a HIPAA compliant cloud environment, with all of the encryption and safety protocols you would expect. As a result, we have woven the patient bill of rights throughout our entire architecture.
We have created a version of the document for you. Download a copy of the Patient Bill of Rights here.
If you believe that any of your rights have been violated, please call the State Health Insurance Assistance Program in your state.