As a patient of the RLS hospital, you have a number of rights. Our reason for existence is to ensure that you get access to quality healthcare and benefit from it. As such we have guidelines specifying how you need to carry yourself in order to achieve these aims.

As long as you follow the rules created for your benefit and shoulder the responsibilities that come with being a patient, there are a number of rights that you can gain access to. The following is a brief list of rights of the patients of the RLS hospital. Please click on the links provided to learn more.

Right to care access

You shall be accorded impartial access to treatment or accommodations that are available or medically indicated, regardless of race, creed, sex, national origin, religion or source of payment for care. You, your family or your designee shall also be included in the ethical discussions and decisions that may arise during the course of your care. To avoid compromising the quality of care, clinical decisions (including tests, treatment and other interventions) are based upon identified patient health care needs, regardless of how the hospital compensates its employees or clinical staff. This philosophy is supported by policies and procedures available to patients, clinical staff, licensed independent practitioners and hospital personnel upon request.

Right to respect and dignity

As a patient at RLS hospital, you have the right to considerate, respectful care and informational privacy, as manifest in the right to:

• Refusal 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 and other symbolic items, as long as they don't interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatment.
• Be interviewed and examined in surroundings designed to assure reasonable audio/visual privacy. This includes the right 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 the 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 seen only by individuals directly involved in your treatment or the monitoring of its quality and by other individuals only with your written authorization, or unless required by a state or federal law, 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 of your choice, if the patient in your present room or the patient's visitors unreasonably disturb you, and be placed in protective privacy when considered necessary for your personal safety.

Right to safety

As a patient of the RLS hospital, you have the right to expect reasonable safety, insofar as the hospital practices and environment are concerned.

Right of inquiry

In all matters pertaining to your treatment, you have the right to know the identity and professional status of the individuals providing service to you, as well as know which physician or other practitioner is primarily responsible for your care. This includes your right to know the existence of any professional relationship among individuals who are treating you, as well as the relationship of the hospital to any other healthcare or educational institution involved in your care. Your participation in clinical training programs or in gathering of data for research purposes should be voluntary.

Right to information

As a patient of the RLS hospital, you have the right to obtain from the practitioner responsible for coordinating your care, complete and current information concerning your diagnosis (to the degree known), treatment and any known prognosis This information should be communicated in terms that you can reasonably be expected to understand. When it is not advisable to give such information to you, the same should be conveyed to a legally authorized individual.

Right to communication

As a patient of the RLS hospital, 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 your community, you have the right to ask for and be provided with the services of an interpreter.

Right to approval

• As a patient of the RLS hospital, you have the right to be reasonably informed to participate in decisions made involving your healthcare. To the extent 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. You should not be subjected to any procedure without voluntary, competent and understanding consent or that of your legally authorized representative.
• Where medically significant alternatives for care or treatment exist, you have the right to be so informed.
• You have the right to know who is responsible for authorizing and performing procedures or treatment.
• You have the right to be informed if the hospital proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation or other research and educational projects affecting your care or treatment.
• You also have the right to refuse to participate in any such activity after the accompanying risks have been explained and understood by you.

Right to consultation

While admitted as a patient at the RLS hospital, you, at your request and expense, have the right to consult with a specialist of your choice.

Right to refusal

As a competent adult, you have the right to 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 patient may be terminated upon reasonable notice.

Right to care continuity

• You have the right to be informed about any need to be transferred to another facility. You may not be transferred to another facility unless the explanation for the transfer, alternatives to the transfer, and acceptance by the other facility are not clearly explained and agreed to by you.
• You have the right to be informed by the responsible practitioner or his/her delegate of any continuing health care requirements following the discharge from the hospital.
• You also reserve the right to request a transfer to another facility, if you are not satisfied for any reason.

Right to pain management

As a patient of the RLS hospital, you have the right to expect to receive information about pain and or pain relief measures; to be cared for by professionals who respond quickly to reports of pain; that your reports of pain will be believed; and that you will have a concerned staff that is committed to pain prevention and management.

Right to charge details

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. You also have the right to timely notice prior to the termination of your eligibility for reimbursement by any third party payer for the cost of your care.

Right to privacy

As a patient at RLS Hospital, you have the right to personal privacy and confidentiality, which includes being free from all forms of abuse and harassment, including the right to access protective services, if needed. You also have the following rights with respect to your health information. These rights include:

• The right to inspect and copy your protected health information.
• The right to request an amendment to your health information.
• The right to request a restriction to your protected health information.
• The right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information.
• The right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosure of your health information.
• The right to receive confidential communications of your health information.

The above rights are all intended to serve you and foster your comfort during the course of your stay. It is your right to be informed about them. Ask your patient relationship executive for explanation of the same, in case they are unclear.

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