Patient bill of right

1. BILL OF RIGHTS
Presented By: Ashar Naseer

2. Objectives
At the end of this presentation the learners will be able to
⁜ Define rights and bill of rights
⁜ Discuss patient’s bill of rights and types of rights
⁜ Explain the purposes of executing patient’s bill of rights
⁜ Explain patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility
⁜ Describe the role of nurse in relation to bill of rights
⁜ Enlist the rights of patient in bill of rights
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3. Definitions
Rights:
Rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or
owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical
theory.
Bill of rights:
⁜ A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights,
is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country.
⁜ The purpose of the bill of rights is to provide specific freedoms to citizens
and limit the power of the government.
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4. Patient’s bill of rights
⁜ The patient’s bill of rights is the first bioethical statement emphasizing the
rights of patients in today’s health care system.
⁜ It refers to the legal rights of patients such as the right to know about
treatment details, to decide whether to take treatment or refuse, to informed
consent before performing any procedure, and to be clarified.
⁜ A patient has two types of rights—the moral and ethical rights such as the
right to privacy and the legal rights such as the right to treatment
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5. Purpose of executing patient’s bill of rights
The following are the purposes of executing the Patient’s Bill of Rights:
⁜ To make aware of the patient’s rights and to use them appropriately when
needed.
⁜ To ensure patient’s dignity and respect and to improve the self-esteem.
⁜ To gain the patient’s cooperation and willingness to participate in the health
care system.
⁜ To legally protect the patient and the health care providers by adopting the
patients’ bill of rights.
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6. (Purpose of executing patient’s bill of rights contd…)
⁜ To improve the patient’s trust, faith, and confidence towards the health care
providers.
⁜ To help the patient in decision-making regarding the treatment provided.
⁜ To keep the records of the patient’s confidential and exercise privacy while
performing any procedure for the clients.
⁜ To help coordinate with hospital rules and regulations.
⁜ To help ensure and continue the treatment as per the patient’s interests and
beliefs.
⁜ To help the patient analyze about the available health resources and their
utilization.
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7. Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility
The Bill of Rights allow the patients to their rights including the following:
Right to admission: A patient has the right to know about the admission details
in the out-patient department (OPD).
If the patient wants to know about the procedure of the OPD, the nurse should
clearly explain the details and make him/her feel comfortable.
The patient should be free from stress throughout his/her hospitalization.
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8. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
In-patient department: When a patient is admitted in the ward, he/she should
be informed about the details of care to be given to him/her, as a checklist for
patient’s verification. The patient should be informed in advance regarding the
nursing procedures, who will be the nurse, etc
Informed consent is an important legal documentation of the patient’s rights,
wherein the patient is informed clearly both orally and in writing about the
procedure to be performed and the signature obtained from the patient or his/her
spouse, parents, or family members.
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9. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Privacy: A patient has the right to privacy, which is a right that extends to all
aspects of his/her care, including care for his/her personal needs, screens should be
provided during physical examination and the body should not be exposed
unnecessarily.
⁜ Moral privacy: This is the right to take decisions on his/her own without the
interference of others.
⁜ Legal privacy: This is the right to check on his/her own case sheet and reports
and the right to choose the treatment methods.
Violating privacy: The patient’s privacy rights should never be violated. Details of
patients should not be overheard or discussed in front of others.
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10. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Right for attention: A patient has the right to be attended immediately when
he/she calls and also the right to be provided information when he/she requests
it.
If a patient calls for help but is not attended or is ignored, the nurse is liable to
be sued under the law of negligence.
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11. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Right for Choosing the treatment methods: A patient has full rights to choose
the treatment modalities for his/her illnesses.
A nurse should be able to clarify the patient’s doubts regarding the different
kinds of treatments available, their cost, and their advantages and disadvantages.
The patient has the right to choose or to refuse the treatment
at anytime and should not be forced or misdirected
to choose any treatment method.
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12. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Right to get orientation of the hospital: When a patient gets admitted to a hospital,
the surroundings are new to him/her, and therefore, a nurse should orient the patient
to all the departments in the hospital.
Right to know about the drugs administered: A patient should be informed about
the drugs being administered to him/her.
It is the duty of a nurse to ensure that the patient is given details such as the dosage
of the drug, the reason why it is administered, the action of the drug, its side effects,
and how it can be taken safely and also to administer the drug to the patient on
time.
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13. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Right to access documents: A patient has the right to access documents and
reports when needed. Patient has the right to access the lab values and to know
the normal or the reference range and also any deviation from the normal
values.
Transcultural care rights: A patient has the right to get complete nursing care
irrespective of his/her caste, religion, race, age, sex, ethnicity, etc. There should
be no racial discrimination or differentiation shown towards the patients
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14. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Right to be respected throughout care and hospitalization: A patient should be
respected and treated with dignity. He/she should be addressed by his/her name,
and not by the colour of the dress, physical features such as height, or bed
number.
Right to get the bills on time: A patient obviously pays for the care provided to
him/her during hospitalization. Hence, he/she has the right to know about the
related charges, but some health institutions delay the settlement of bills. The
amount should be informed prior, so that the patient can be prepared to pay at
the time of discharge.
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15. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Right to complain: A patient has the rights to express a complaint to the
concerned hospital authorities about problems faced regarding treatment or care
or regarding issues such as lack of respect.
Every hospital should have an opinion box, which is used to obtain the patient’s
feedback about the hospital procedures and the nursing care.
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16. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Right to get discharged at any time: A patient has the right to get discharged
from the hospital at any time he/she wishes before the end of the treatment.
He/she cannot be compelled to stay in the hospital. The expected length of stay
for the illness should be explained clearly to the patient, but the patient has the
right to decide whether to continue treatment or get discharged from the
hospital.
Right to access the emergency services: A patient has the right to access the
emergency services when needed.
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17. (Patient’s bill of rights in a tertiary health care facility contd….)
Right to access the available resources from the hospital: A patient should be
informed about the available resources and their importance, for example,
availability of the doctors, specialists, their arrival time,
treatment details, etc.
The patient should be informed about these
details before he/she asks for it.
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18. Role of nurses in implementing the patient’s bill of
rights
The following are a nurse’s rights and responsibilities in implementing the
Patient’s Bill of Rights:
⁜ Help the patient to understand about the Patient’s Bill of Rights and its
importance.
⁜ Provide care equally to all patients without any discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, nationality, disability, socioeconomically status or age.
Provide respectful care in a safe and hygienic environment to all the patients.
⁜ Be always alert and prepared to attend to any kind of emergency. A patient in
emergency should be treated immediately without any delay.
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19. (Role of nurses in implementing the patient’s bill of rights contd….)
⁜ Provide adequate needed information about the health care providers to the
patient and orient the patient as to the details regarding the physicians, the
health care professionals, and the hospital departments in advance, since the
right of the patient to be informed should be understood and respected by a
nurse.
⁜ Inform the patient about the procedures, ward routines, names of health care
providers, and the rights of the patient to choose the physicians who provide
care and to refuse care.
⁜ Provide complete information about the patient’s assessment details, treatment
and progress.
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20. (Role of nurses in implementing the patient’s bill of rights contd….)
⁜ Explain the details of informed consent and the benefits and risks before getting
the patient’s signature.
⁜ Explain to the patient about his/her right to choose treatment modalities and to
decide whether or not to continue treatment.
⁜ Explain to the patient about his/her right to refuse to get involved in research
activities.
⁜ Explain to the patient about his/her right to be present while taking decisions
regarding patient care.
⁜ Explain to the patient about his/her right to get a copy of medical summary
regarding all aspects of treatment from the hospital.
⁜ Explain to the patient about his/her right to get bill details in advance.
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21. (Role of nurses in implementing the patient’s bill of rights contd….)
⁜ Inform the patient that he/she can lodge a complaint or give feedback if
he/she is not satisfied with the care provided by the hospital.
⁜ Explain to the patient about his/her right to provide authority to his/her
family members and spouse to visit him/her.
⁜ Explain to the patient about his/her right to donate the organs after death and
record his/her wish in the donor card that should be provided by the hospital
to the patient.
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22. Bill of rights
The following are the rights mentioned in the Patient’s Bill of Rights:
⁜ Right to get needed assistance from the hospital about using the patient’s rights
Right to get treatment irrespective of the patient’s sex, race, color, nationality,
religion, disability, socioeconomic status and age
⁜ Right to get respectful care under a safe and hygienic environment
⁜ Right to get immediate care in emergency situations
⁜ Right to get informed about the details of health care providers of the hospital
Right to decide the treatment modalities planned for the patient
⁜ Right to know and be oriented to the ward routines and procedures of the
hospital
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23. (Bill of rights contd…)
⁜ Right to know about the patient’s diagnosis, observation, reports and treatment
⁜ Right to get the needed information before signing in the informed consent
⁜ Right to refuse any treatment provided to the patient Right to participate or
refuse in research and to withdraw at any stage of the research
⁜ Right to get copies of medical reports and summary documents of the patient’s
details
⁜ Right to get bill details of the patient in advance before discharge
⁜ Right to keep the reports and details of the patient confidential
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24. (Bill of rights contd…)
⁜ Right to get and provide privacy for the patient throughout hospitalization
⁜ Right to complain regarding patient care to the hospital management
⁜ Right to donate organs and get donor card from the hospital
⁜ Right to provide authority for the close family members/spouse to visit the
patient and they should be given priority in all aspects to visit the patient
during visiting hours
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25. References
Clement,N.(2013).Nursing ethics:Concepts,trending and practice.Pearson
Education India.
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