Patient Rights
To protect the basic rights of individuals, Summa Health System has adopted the following guidelines to ensure the private rights of each patient.
You should be free from restraint, interference, coercion, corporal punishment, discrimination or threat of reprisal by the hospital. You shall receive care in a safe environment, free from physical or mental abuse or harassment and free from chemical and physical restraints except as authorized in writing by a physician for a specific and limited period of time or when it is necessary to protect you from injury to yourself or to others.
If you would like a copy of your patient rights to take with you when you leave the hospital, please ask your nurse.
Access to Care
You shall be provided access to treatment or accommodations that are available or medically indicated, regardless of race, color, disability, creed, sex, national origin, religion or source of payment for care. You, your family or your designee shall also be included in ethical discussions and decisions that may arise during the course of your care.
To avoid compromising Summa Health System's quality of care, clinical decisions (including tests, treatments and other interventions) are based on identified patient healthcare needs regardless of how the hospital compensates its employees or clinical staff. You have the right to participate in the development and implementation of your plan of care and treatment.
You have the right to be informed of your health status, your diagnosis and prognosis. This philosophy is supported by policies and procedures available to patients, clinical staff, licensed independent practitioners and hospital personnel upon request.
You have the right to access information contained in your clinical record within a reasonable time frame.
Respect and Dignity
You have the right to considerate, respectful care and personal privacy, as manifested by the right to:
- Refuse to talk with or see anyone not officially connected with the hospital, including visitors or persons officially connected with the hospital but who are not directly involved in your care.
- Wear appropriate personal clothing and religious or other symbolic items, as long as they do not interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatment.
- Be interviewed and examined in surroundings designed to assure reasonable audio/visual privacy. This includes the right upon request to have a person of one's own sex present during a physical examination, treatment or procedure performed by a health professional of the opposite sex.
- Expect that discussion or consultation involving your care will be conducted discreetly and individuals not directly involved with your care will not be present without permission.
- Have your medical record read only by individuals directly involved in your treatment, payment or the monitoring of its quality or healthcare operations (including hospital attorneys and consultants) and by other individuals only with your written authorization, or unless required by state or federal law. You will receive a Notice of Privacy Practices that describes the way we use, disclose and safeguard patient information.
- Expect that privacy will be maintained during hygiene activities.
- Expect all communications and other records pertaining to your care, including the source of payment for treatment, to be treated as confidential.
- Request a transfer to another room if the patient in your present room or the patient's visitors are unreasonably disturbing you.
- Be placed in protective privacy when it is considered necessary for your personal safety, communicated in terms that you can be reasonably expected to understand. When it is not medically advisable to give such information to you, the information should be made available to a legally authorized individual.
Information
You have the right to obtain complete and current information concerning your health status, including your diagnosis (to the degree known), treatment and any known prognosis from the practitioner responsible for coordinating your care. This information should be communicated in terms that you can be reasonably expected to understand. When it is not medically advisable to give such information to you, the information should be made available to a legally authorized individual.
You have the right to have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital. You have the right to access information contained in your clinical records within a reasonable time frame.
Forms and Consent
As a patient, you may be asked to sign consent forms, depending upon the type of treatment you will receive. If you do not understand the consent forms, our hospital staff or your physician will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You have the right to be reasonably informed about and to participate in decisions made involving your healthcare. To the degree possible, this should be based on a clear, concise explanation of your condition and of all proposed technical procedures, including the possibilities of any risk of mortality, serious side effects, problems related to recuperation and probability of success.
Except for an emergency, you should not be subjected to any procedure without a voluntary, competent and understanding consent or that of your legally authorized representative. Where medically significant alternatives for care and treatment exist, you shall be so informed.
You have the right to know who is responsible for authorizing and performing procedures or treatment. You shall be informed if the hospital proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation or other research and educational projects affecting your care or treatment, and you have the right to refuse to participate in such an activity.
If you are a Medicare patient and you feel you are being discharged too soon, you may ask for a review of your discharge by Ohio KePRO, Ohio's Medicare Quality Improvement Organization. Please refer to the Medicare Important Message that you were given upon admission or request a copy from your nurse.
Request or Refusal of Treatment
If you are a competent adult, you have the right to request or refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law. When refusal of treatment by you, the patient, or your legally authorized representative prevents the provision of appropriate care in accordance with ethical and professional standards, the relationship with the physician may be terminated upon reasonable notice.
This right must not be construed as a mechanism to demand the provision of treatment or services deemed medically unnecessary or inappropriate.
Consultation
You, at your own request and expense, have the right to consult with a specialist.
Communication
You have the right to access people outside the hospital by means of visitors and by verbal and written communication. If you do not speak or understand the predominant language of the community, we can assist you with an interpreter.
Transfer and Continuity of Care
You may not be transferred to another facility unless you have received a complete explanation of the need for the transfer and the alternatives to such a transfer and unless the transfer is acceptable to the other facility. You have the right to be informed by the responsible practitioner or his delegate of any continuing healthcare requirements following the discharge from the hospital.
You have the right to request a transfer to another facility if you are not satisfied for any reason.
Hospital Charges
With the exception of Medicaid and General Assistance, you have the right to request and receive an itemized and detailed explanation of your total bill for services rendered in the hospital.
Hospital Rules and Regulations
You should be informed of the hospital rules and regulations applicable to your conduct as a patient. You are entitled to information about the hospital's mechanism for the initiation, review and resolution of patient complaints.
Compliments /Complaints
You have the right to voice your concerns without compromising your access to care. You can make a complaint or compliment directly to the hospital by calling the patient liaison, asking for a supervisor or contacting Service Excellence online. You may file a complaint with the state or federal regulatory agency or with The Joint Commission.
Complaints may be filed with the Ohio Department of Healthcare's Complaint Unit, The Joint Commission, Ohio KePRO, or at the following addresses:
The Ohio Department of Health
Complaint Unit
246 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43266
(800) 342-0553
The Joint Commission
Office of Quality Monitoring
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60191
e-mail: complaint@jointcommission.org
phone: (800) 994-6610
fax: (630) 792-5636
Ohio KePRO Beneficiary Helpline
Rock Run Center, Suite 100
5700 Lombardo Center Drive
Seven Hills, OH 44131 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week
1-800-589-7337
For Laboratory Complaints:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Central Office Division of Laboratory Services (CLIA) 1-877-267-2323, extension 63531.
