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    Patient Rights
    Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento

    Every patient deserves to be treated with respect, dignity, and concern. While you are a patient at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento you have the right to:

    1. Exercise these rights without regard to sex, disability, age, diagnosis, economic status, educational background, race, color, ethnicity, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, or the source of payment for care.
    2. Be informed of your rights, in advance of providing or discontinuing care, whenever possible.
    3. Know the name of the physician who has primary responsibility for coordinating thecare and the names and professional relationships of the other physicians and nonphysicianswho will see you.
    4. Have a family member (or other representative of your choosing) and your ownphysician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital.
    5. Considerate and respectful care, and to be made comfortable. You have the right torespect for your personal, cultural, psychosocial spiritual, and personal values.
    6. Have access to pastoral services and other spiritual services.
    7. Receive care in a safe setting that is free from all forms of abuse or harassment.
    8. Receive information about your health status, course of treatment, prospects forrecovery and outcomes of care (including unanticipated outcomes) in terms you canunderstand.
    9. You have a right to participate in ethical questions that arise in the course of yourcare, including issues of conflict resolution, withholding resuscitative services, andforgoing or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.
    10. Participate actively in decisions regarding medical care, including development andimplementation of your care plan. However, you do not have the right to demandinappropriate or medically unnecessary treatment or services.
    11. Request or refuse treatment, to the extent permitted by law, including the right toleave the hospital even against the advice of physicians.
    12. Receive as much information about any proposed treatment or procedure as youmay need in order to give informed consent or to refuse this course of treatment. Except in emergencies, this information shall include a description of the procedure or treatment, the medically significant risks involved in this treatment, the likelihood of achieving the desired results, alternate courses of treatment or non-treatment and
      the risks involved in each and to know the name of the person who will carry out the procedure or treatment.
    13. Formulate advance directives and have staff and practitioners who provide carecomply with these directives or be informed if the hospital is unable to honor youradvance directive wishes.
    14. Identify a surrogate decision maker who can make health care decisions for you should you become unable to do so, and have all the patients' rights apply to this person or others who may have legal responsibility to make decisions regardingmedical care on your behalf.
    15. Personal privacy.
    16. Full consideration of privacy concerning the medical care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly. You have the right to be advised as to the reason for the presence of any individual. You have the right to have visitors leave prior to an examination and when treatment issues are being discussed.
    17. Give consent for recording or filming made for purposes other than the identification, diagnosis, or treatment and rescind consent for use up until a reasonable time before the recording or film is used.
    18. Confidential treatment of all communication, recordings/films and records pertaining to the care and the stay in the hospital. Written permission shall be obtained before the medical records and/or films can be made available to anyone not directly related with the care, unless otherwise authorized or permitted by law.
    19. Access information contained in your medical record within a reasonable time frame.
    20. Request an amendment to and receive an accounting of disclosures regarding your health information.
    21. Examine and receive an explanation of the hospital's bill regardless of the source of payment.
    22. Be free from restraints and seclusion of any form used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.
    23. Reasonable responses to any reasonable requests made for service.
    24. Reasonable continuity of care, and to know in advance the time and location of appointment, as well as the identity of persons providing the care.
    25. Be advised if hospital/personal physician proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation affecting care or treatment. You have the right to refuse to participate in such research projects without fear of compromise to your care.
    26. Examine and receive an explanation of the hospital charges regardless of source of payment.
    27. Know which hospital rules and policies apply to your conduct while a patient.
    28. Designate visitors of your choosing, if you have decision-making capacity, whether or not the visitor is related by blood or marriage, unless:
      (A) No visitors are allowed.
      (B) The facility reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would
      endanger the health or safety of a patient, a member of the health facility staff, or
      other visitor to the health facility, or would significantly disrupt the
      operations of the facility.
      (C) You have indicated to the health facility staff that you no longer want this person
      to visit.
      (D) You lack decision-making capacity. Then your wishes will be considered
      purposes of determining who may visit. At a minimum, the hospital shall include any
      persons living in the household.
      These sections may not be construed to prohibit a health facility from otherwise
      establishing reasonable restrictions upon visitation, including restriction upon the
      hours of visitation and number of visitors.
    29. Request a list of and assistance with accessing protective or advocacy services in thecommunity, including notifying government agencies of neglect or abuse.
    30. Appropriate assessment and management of pain, information about pain, pain relief measures and to participate in pain management decisions. If you suffer from severe chronic intractable pain, you may request or reject the use of any or all modalities to relieve your pain, including the use of opiate medication. Your doctor may refuse toprescribe you opiate medication, but if so, must inform you that there are physicianswho specialize in the treatment of severe chronic intractable pain including methodsthat include the use of opiates.
    31. Be informed of any continuing health care requirements following discharge from thehospital. Be informed that, with your authorization, the hospital may provide a friendor family member with information about your continuing health care requirementsfollowing discharge from the hospital.
    32. Be involved in the development and implementation of your discharge plan.
    33. Have complaints/concerns voiced by you or your representative addressed in arespectful manner, as soon as possible.
    34. File a grievance. If you want to file a grievance with this hospital, you may do so bywriting or by calling Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento Integrated Quality ServicesDepartment (916) 733-8833, 2800 L Street Sacramento, CA 95816.
      You will be provided with a written response. The written response will contain thename of a person to contact at the hospital the steps taken to investigate the grievance,the results of the grievance process, and the date of completion of the grievanceprocess. Concerns regarding quality of care or premature discharge will also bereferred to the appropriate Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organization(PRO).
    35. Report concerns about the safety or quality of care provided in the hospital to the JointCommission after efforts to resolve the concerns through the hospital's managementhave been unsuccessful. Contact the Joint Commission's Office of Quality Monitoringby calling 1-800-994-6610 or e-mailing complaint@jcaho.org.
    36. File a complaint with the State Department of Public Health regardless of whether you use the hospital's grievance process. The State Department of Public Health'sphone number and address is: State Department of Public Health: Licensing & Certification Program 3901 Lennane Dr., Suite 210, Sacramento, CA 95834;(916) 263-5800 or (800) 554-0354 or FAX (916) 263-5840.

    In accordance with Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Medicare
    Conditions of Participation, Title 22 and other California laws.

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