The Patient Bill Of Rights Explained For Caregivers
The patient bill of rights states that patients in health care have certain rights. These rights vary depending on the health care facility. In general, they ensure patients have access to quality care and information and are treated with respect and dignity.
The patient bill matters to both patients and their caregivers. In this blog, we’ll explain:
- What is in the patient bill of rights
- How it helps caregivers
- How it helps you help your loved one
Are you looking for more information to help you on your caregiving journey? Check to see if you have free access to Trualta’s learning library and community of caregivers.
What Is It?
The patient bill of rights isn’t a single document. There are different versions. All are lists of patients’ rights in a hospital or other health care setting. A patient bill of rights is supposed to ensure fair, respectful care, timely and clear information, and quality treatment.
The modern origin of a Patient’s Bill of Rights comes from the American Hospital Association (AHA). The AHA introduced a patient bill in the 1970s. The document lists 12 rights or expectations for patients receiving health services in a hospital.
The bill was never a binding legal document. The AHA encouraged health care institutions to adopt it and facilities to adapt the rights to their community of patients. This is one reason multiple versions of the Patient Bill of Rights exist. For more specific information, ask for your hospital’s policy on a bill of rights.
In 2003, the AHA replaced it with a Patient Care Partnership, which explains what to expect when receiving care in a hospital.
The patient bill is not a single document, but most versions have a similar list of 12 patient rights. According to this, a patient has a right to:
- Safe, respectful care
- Confidentiality and privacy practices with patient medical records
- Know your coordinating care physician
- Get complete, clear information about diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis
- Get the information required to give informed consent for treatment decisions
- Receive appropriate and routine services when hospitalized
- Be aware of appointment times and physicians available for your care
- Get a proper pain assessment and a treatment plan for pain management
- Refuse recommended treatment or participation in a study, and be given information about the resulting consequences
- Transfer to another facility after leaving a clinical study
- Receive a summary of care after a clinical study
- Designate physicians to receive medical updates
How Does It Help Caregivers?
The bill focuses on the patient, but caregivers can also benefit from it. Most importantly, knowing patient rights helps you provide better care. Being able to fulfill your role better reduces your burden and stress.
Caregivers do more than just provide care. They also advocate for their loved ones. When you understand your loved one’s rights in a health care setting, you can advocate more effectively. Here are some additional, specific ways understanding the patient bill of rights can help you as a caregiver.
Guidance & Clarity
Navigating health care can be confusing for non-health professionals. As the caregiver, you can use the bill of rights to provide clarity. It shows you how patients are supposed to be treated. It clarifies health care expectations. These expectations can also apply to caregiving. It gives you guidance on what ethical caregiving looks like.
Cultural Competence
Unfortunately, healthcare isn’t always culturally competent. This can be stressful for both the patient and the caregiver. If healthcare professionals don’t respect or acknowledge cultural differences, care suffers.
The patient bill of rights doesn’t guarantee cultural competence in all settings, but it says you have a right to it. The patient bill states that patients have a right to considerate and respectful care that aligns with their beliefs. If the health care facilities you work with adhere to these rights, they should be respectful in how they provide care and communicate.
Better Communication
Patients have a right to be fully informed about their symptoms, diagnoses, prognosis, and treatment choices. Medical care providers must provide information in a clear way that they understand.
This also benefits caregivers. When you ask for clear and simple health information, it improves your ability to talk with both the care team and your care recipient.
More Information
The right to information improves communication from physicians to caregivers to patients. It also means you and your care recipient are generally more informed about their health and healthcare needs. Information is a tool you can use to be a better caregiver and to feel more comfortable in your role.
Better Relationships With Health Care Providers
All of these benefits can help you feel more confident as a caregiver when working with doctors and other healthcare providers. Information, communication, and knowledge of patient rights help develop better, more trusting relationships with healthcare workers.
Respect & Dignity For Your Loved One
Family caregivers want the best for their loved ones. It can be hard to go through the healthcare system if you feel that they aren’t respected. The patient bill of rights ensures that all patients are treated with dignity. This is important for patients, but also for your state of mind as a caregiver.
High Quality Care & Treatment
As a caregiver, you want the best care for your loved one. The rights outlined in the patient bill of rights aim to improve the quality of care for all patients, including patient safety. When you feel confident that they are getting the best treatment, you can do your job of caring for them at home more effectively.
How To Use It To Help Your Care Recipient
You can be a better caregiver to your loved one when you understand their rights in a healthcare setting. Most health care professionals and facilities acknowledge the patient bill of rights. If you feel your care recipient’s rights are being violated, you can advocate for them.
Advocate For Autonomy
Patients have a right to make decisions about their health care unless legally deemed unable to do so. As a caregiver, you can help push for their autonomy by insisting on clear information.
Even if you don’t agree with the decisions they make, it’s their right. You can guide them with explanations from their doctors about options, consequences, risks, and benefits. To the extent it is possible, autonomy is important for dignity in health care. Qualified patients must be able to consent to their care.
Push For Patient Participation
It’s easy for patients, especially older adults with serious conditions, to let others make their decisions. They may get confused easily by the information. If they are in pain or have cognitive deficits, it’s even more difficult to get involved in their own treatment.
As a caregiver, you can encourage them to actively engage in their care and in providing informed consent. Help them by explaining health information clearly. Encourage them to ask questions and to express how they feel and what they prefer. The more you do this, the more empowered they will feel to participate in their care.
If your loved one is ever unable to make their own care decisions, you may become a designated health care proxy. In this situation, you take on the patient’s rights. Keep your loved one’s interests in mind and demand the rights to which they are entitled.
Demand Respectful Care
Your loved one has a right to respect and dignity in the care they receive. This means getting the information they need in a way they can understand. It means being allowed to make their own decisions. It means respecting their culture and beliefs.
Now that you know this is a right, you can push for it. If you believe any healthcare provider has been dismissive or inconsiderate, demand better. If their culture or beliefs are not being considered, talk to the healthcare providers about it.
Report Concerns
Understanding patients’ rights means you are better positioned to report violations or make complaints. Encourage your loved one to express any concerns to you as well. Something might have happened that you didn’t see.
Make a complaint to the patient’s health care facility. Detail what happened and how it violated their rights. Any facility that respects patients’ rights should take a complaint seriously and address it.
The patient bill of rights might not be a legally binding document, but it’s useful. It helps patients get better medical treatment and care. It helps caregivers provide better care. Know your loved one’s rights as a patient and be prepared to advocate for them as needed.
Are you looking for more information to help you on your care journey? Check to see if you have free access to Trualta’s learning library and community of caregivers.
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