As a natural outgrowth of our organizational values and mission, the board of directors, medical staff, and employees of Saint Francis Medical Center jointly affirm and recognize the following rights and responsibilities of patients. These rights and responsibilities apply to all patients, including neonatal, pediatric and adult. If you have any questions regarding this information, please ask your healthcare provider to contact a supervisor or manager:
Access to Care
As a patient, you have the right to impartial care and treatment that is available in our Medical Center regardless of race, creed, national origin, sex, age or financial status. Patients can freely voice complaints and recommend changes without being subject to coercion, discrimination, reprisal, or unreasonable interruption of care, treatment and service.
Respect and Dignity
- You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect at all times and under all circumstances.
- You have the right to pastoral counseling and spiritual care services.
- You have the right to have your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected.
- You may wear appropriate clothing and religious or other symbolic items as long as they do not interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatments.
Pain Management
You can expect information about pain and pain relief measures, health professionals who respond quickly to reports of pain, and state-of-the-art pain management.
Privacy and Confidentiality
You have the right, within the law, to personal and medical information privacy. You may refuse to talk to or see anyone not officially connected with Saint Francis Medical Center, including visitors or persons officially connected with Saint Francis Medical Center but not directly involved in your care.
You can expect that your medical records will be treated as confidential information and that only those persons who are directly involved in your care or in monitoring it will have access to your records. Only your written authorization can change this.
Consent
- You or your surrogate decision-maker has the right to consent to or refuse proposed treatment.
- You also have the right to consult with a specialist and to know about alternative methods of treatment and the probable outcomes.
- You have the right to be informed if the Medical Center proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation affecting your care or treatment.
- You have the right to refuse to participate in such research projects.
Protective Services
You or your family may feel there is a need for protective services (i.e., guardianship, conservatorship, child or adult protective services). If you have a complaint you wish to file, the medical center will provide you with a list of those names, addresses, and phone numbers and will assist you in any way they can.
Personal Safety
You have the right to reasonable safety as far as Medical Center practices and environment are concerned.
Ethics Committee
Sometimes patients, families and staff have difficult choices and ethical questions they need to talk about (e.g., questions on end-of-life care) or issues related to your rights and responsibilities (e.g., safety, pain management, confidentiality). Members of the Ethics Committee are available to address difficult ethical issues. To access the Ethics Committee, ask your healthcare provider to contact a supervisor or manager.
Identity/Information
You have the right to information regarding the identity and professional status of the physician treating you. You, your surrogate decision maker, or when appropriate, your family, have the right to discuss the outcome of all procedures with your physician. This explanation should be sufficiently clear for you to understand. You also have the right to participate in planning your care and to know the risks involved. If we are unable to give you this information, it should be given to person(s) legally authorized to receive it. You have the right to be included in any discussions/decisions regarding ethical issues in your care.
Transfer and Continuity of Care
You have the right to participate in your discharge planning, including available service options and a choice of agencies that provide those services. You have the right not to be transferred to another facility unless the reason for it and the alternatives have been explained to you and unless the next facility agrees to accept you. You have the right to be instructed in your continued self-care before your discharge from Saint Francis Medical Center.
Medical Center Charges
You have the right to receive an itemized bill and explanation of charges. You also have the right to notice of termination of a third party payer’s reimbursement.
Medical Center Rules and Regulations
You have the right to be free from abuse, harassment, neglect or exploitation. You also have the right to know Medical Center rules and regulations for patient care and for handling complaints.
Provision of Information
- As a patient, you have the responsibility to provide information about your present and past illnesses and treatments.
- You have the responsibility to communicate whether or not you understand the treatment plan designed for you.
- You and your family are responsible for reporting unexpected changes in your condition to the responsible practitioner.
Reporting Pain
You have the responsibility to discuss relief options with doctors and nurses, help the doctors and nurses assess pain, and tell the doctors and nurses if your pain is not relieved.
Respect and Consideration
You have the responsibility to respect other patients and the personnel involved in your care and treatment. You are responsible for being respectful of the property of other persons and Saint Francis Medical Center.
Compliance with Instructions
You have the responsibility to participate in the teaching and treatment plan recommended by the personnel who care for you. You and your family are responsible for following the treatment plan developed with your practitioners.
You should express any concerns you have about your ability to follow the proposed course of treatment. The Medical Center, in turn, will make every effort to adapt the treatment plan to your specific needs and limitations.
You and your family should understand the consequences of failing to follow the recommended course of treatment or of using other treatments. If you or your family refuses treatment or fails to follow the practitioner’s instructions, you are responsible for the outcome.
Sometimes disagreements occur about a course of treatment. Usually these disagreements can be talked through and resolved. However, if they continue, you should talk to your physician or care coordinator. They can assist you in finding other resolutions.
Medical Center Charges
You are responsible for meeting the financial obligations of your health care as promptly as possible.
Contact
The doctors, nurses and clinical staff at Saint Francis Medical Center are dedicated to keeping patients healthy by providing very good care. To provide feedback, or if you’d like to let us know about an area where Saint Francis does not meet a need or where room exists for improvement, please call 573-331-3927.
If your concern is not resolved, you may contact Department of Health and Senior Services, P.O. Box 570, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0570 (573-751-6303), or The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 1 Renaissance Blvd., Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 (800-994-6610).
For more information, please see our Patient Rights, Responsibilities, Advance Directives and Financial Assistance brochure.
