Patients’ Rights

The healing and recovery process depends upon the combined efforts of the patient, physicians, and the hospital working together as a team. We want you, our patients, to know what your rights and responsibilities are while you are a patient at Ray County Hospital and Healthcare.

Exercise of Rights

You have the right to:

1. Impartial access to treatment or accommodations that are available or medically indicated, regardless of race, creed, sex, national origin, or sources of payment or care
2. Participate in the development and implementation of his or her plan of care.
3. Refused treatment, and to be informed of medical consequences of this action.
4. The patient or his or hers representative (as allowed under State Law) have the right to make informed decisions regarding his or her care
5. Formulate advance directives, and to have the hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital comply with these directives, including the designation of an individual to make decisions for the patient of the patients advance directive.
6. Have a family member or a representative of his report choices, and his or her own physician notified promptly of his or her admission to the hospital.
7. Know the identity and professional status of individuals providing service to you and to know which physician is responsible for your care.
8. Have access to people outside the hospital. (visitors, written, and phone communication.) and to an interpreter when language barriers are a continuing problem.
9. Be informed of visitation, or support person where appropriate, including any clinical restrictions or limitations on such rights in advance of furnishing patient care whenever possible.
10. Subject to patient consent, or support person when appropriate, to receive the visitors whom he or she designated including, but not limited to a spouse, a domestic partner (including same sex domestic partner) another family, member, or friend and his or her right to withdraw organize such a concert at time.
11. Not restricted limit or otherwise deny visitation privileges based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, dignity, sexual orientation, or disability.
12. Ensure that all visitors and joyful and equal visitation privileges consistent with patient preferences
13. Receive an explanation regarding transferred to another facility and the practitioner responsible for the continuing healthcare requirements following discharge from the hospital
14. Request and receive an itemized and detailed explanation of your total bill for services rendered.
15. Voice grievances with respect to treatment of care that is or fails to be furnished without discrimination or reprisal for voicing the grievance.
16. Prompt affected by the facility to resolve the grievance, including those with respect to behavior other patients.

Privacy and Safety

1. The patient has a right to personal property
2. The patient has a right to receive care and safe sitting.
3. The patient has a right to be free from all forms of abuse, neglect, or harassment.

Confidentialities of Patient Records

1. The patient has a right to confidentiality of his or her clinical records.
2. The patient has the right to access information contained in his or her clinical records within a reasonable.

Restraints for a Tire Medical and Surgical Care

1. The patient has a right to have freedom from restraints of any form that are not medically necessary, or are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by the staff.

You Have the Responsibility

1. To provide the best of your knowledge accurate and complete information about present complaints past illness, hospitalizations medication, and other matters relating to you and your health. You have the responsibility to report unexpected changes in your condition to your physician.
2. To follow the treatment plan recommended by your physician
3. For his or her own actions of treatment is refused, or the physicians recommendations are not followed
4. To follow hospital rules and regulations affecting patient care and conduct.
5. To be considerate of all the rights of other patients and hospital personnel, and being respectful to the property of other persons at the hospital.
6. For assuring that the financial obligations of their health care fulfilled as properly as possible.

Grievances

1.The patient and patient’s family or responsible party has a right to present concerns without fear or compromising future access to care the patient, family or responsible party can voice concerns to the nursing care for him or her to the shift supervisor, department supervisor or the Director of nursing.

2. The patient patience, family or responsible party has a right to call the quality assurance coordinator at Ray County Hospital and Healthcare. Contact phone number is 816-470-5432 extension 128 if a concern is not being resolved.
3. Expressed concerns will have an immediate follow up by the respective department(s) with a written response to the patient, patience, family or responsible party within 7 to 10 days.
4. Patients wishing to file a complaint or to report cases of abuse, exploitation, or neglect, may contact the Department of Health and Senior Services Health Standards and Licensure Section at 573-751-6303 or use PO Box 580 Jefferson City, MO 65102; or the abuse hot line 1-800-392-0210.

Rev. 01/31/2019

We comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and do not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, disability, race, color, ancestry, citizenship, religion, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, nation origin, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, payment source or ability, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law.

We provide free communication aids and services to people with disabilities, such as written information in various formats (large print, audio, accessible electronic formats). We also provide free qualified interpreters and information written in other languages to people whose primary language is not English.

If you need access to services, or to report a concern regarding discrimination in access to services, please contact our civil rights advocate, Pam Tarr at 816-470-5432, ext.128.

You can also file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office of Civil Rights Complaint Portal, available at:

https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/portal/lobby.jsf or by mail or phone at:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201

1-800-368-1019, 800-537-7697 (TDD)

Complaint forms are available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/office/file/index.html

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.  Please review it carefully.

Understanding your health record and information:

Each time you visit Ray County Hospital and Healthcare a record of your visit is made.  Usually this record contains your symptoms, examination, test results, diagnoses, treatment and a plan for future care or treatment.  This information is often referred to as your medical record and serves as a:

• Basis for planning your care and treatment.
• Method of communication for health care providers who share in your care.
• Legal document describing the care you received.
• Means for you or a third-party payer to verify services billed were provided.
• Source of data for public health officials who oversee the delivery of health care in the US.
• Source of data for facility planning and marketing.
• Tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve.
  
  

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to ensure its accuracy, better understand who, what when, where, and why others may access your health information; and make more information decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.

Our Responsibilities:

Ray County Memorial Hospital staff and personnel are required to maintain the privacy of your health information.  We provide you with this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to the information we collect and maintain on you, we will abide by this notice.  We will notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction.  We will accommodate reasonable requests you have to communicate your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.  We will not use or disclose our health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

How We Will Use or Disclose Your Health Information:

1. Treatment: We will use your health care information in your treatment.  For Example, as information is recorded in your record by nurses, doctors, and other members of the health care team, your primary care doctor will use this information to determine the course of treatment that may work best for you, and your doctor will document his instructions to members of the health care team.  We will also provide your physician or subsequent health providers or healthcare facilities with copies of various reports and information to assist in the continuation of your healthcare.
2. Payment: We will use your health information for payment.  For Example; a bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer, including Medicare and Medicaid.  The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, your diagnosis, procedures, and supplies used.
3. Out of Pocket Payment: If you pay out of pocket (or in other words, you have requested that we not bill your health plan), in full for a specific item or service, you have the right to ask that your personal health information with respect to that item or service not be disclosed to health play for purpose of payment or health care operations, and we will honor that request.
4. Health Care Operations: We will us your health information for regular health operations.  For Example, the Quality Improvement Committee may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it.  This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care services we provide.
5. Business Associates: There are some services provided in our organization through contracts with business associates.  Examples include our accountants and attorneys.  When these services are contracted we may disclose your health information to our business associates so they can perform the job we have asked them to do.  To protect your health information, however, business associates are required by federal law to appropriately safeguard your information.
6. Directory: Unless you notify us that you object, we may use your name, location in the facility, your general condition and religious affiliations for directory purposes.  This information may be provided to members of the clergy.  and, except for religious affiliation to other people who ask for you by name.  We may also place your name on the wall near your bed for purposes of identifying you, unless you notify us that you object.
7. Notifications: We may use or disclose information to notify a family member, personal representative or caregiver of your location and general condition.  For example, if we are unable to reach your family member or personal representative, then we may leave a message for them on voicemail or answering machine.
8. Communication with family: Health professionals, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member, relative, close personal friend, or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or payment related to your care.
9. Data Breach: You have a right to be notified upon a breach of any of your personal health information.  We may use or disclose your personal health information to provide legally required notices of unauthorized access to or disclosure of your health information.
10. Fund Raising: We may contact you as part of a fund-raising effort.  You have a right to opt out of any fund raising effort.
11. Judicial/Administration Proceedings: We may disclose health information to a law enforcement purposes as required by law, or in response to a valid subpoena or court order.
12. Law Enforcement: We may disclose health information to law enforcement official for the purposes such as providing limited information to locate a missing person or to report a crime.
13. Reports: Federal law makes provision for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a work force member or business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangered one or more patients, workers, or the public.
14. Health information Exchange: Federal law and state laws may permit us to participate in Health Information Exchange (HIE).  HIE allows health care professionals to access and securely share a patients’ vital medical information electronically.  Your PHI may be disclosed to the HIE and to other health care providers that participates in the HIE.  When you go to an outside provider, we may be able to share and/or access your records through an electronic Health Information Exchange.  The electronic HIE allows providers or health plans to submit a single request through an electronic HIE to obtain electronic records for a specific patient from other HIE participants.  The provider must have sufficient personal information about you to prove they have treatment relationship with you before the HIE will allow access to your information.  To allow authorized individuals to access your electronic health information you do not have to do anything.  By reading this notice, and not opting out, your information will be available through HIE.

Opting Out:  If you do not wish to share information with providers through the HIE, you must opt out.  Please understand your decision to restrict information through the HIE will limit your health care providers’ ability to provide the most effective care for you.  By submitting a request for restriction, you accept the risks associated with that decision.  Your decision to restrict access to your electronic health information through the HIE does not impact other disclosures of your health information.  Providers and health plans may continue to share your information directly through other means (facsimile or secure mail) without your specific written authorization.  Opting out of the HIE will not prevent our providers from seeing your complete medical records.

TO OPT OUT PLEASE CONTACT:             

Ray County Hospital and Healthcare
Medical Records Director
904 Wollard Blvd
Richmond, MO  64085
816-470-7374

15. Other Uses and Disclosures:  We are permitted and/or required by law to make certain other uses and disclosures of your personal health information without your consent or authorization for the following:
     

• Food and Drug Administration.
• Public Health or Legal Authorizes charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
• Research
• Correctional Institutes
• Workers Compensation
• Organ and Tissue Donation Organizations.
• Military Command Authorities
• Health Oversight Agencies
• Funeral Directors and Coroners
• National Security and Intelligence Agencies
• Protective Services for the President or Others
• A person or person able to prevent or lessen a serious threat to health or safety.

OTHER USES and disclosures not described in the Notice of Privacy Practices will be made only with an authorization from an individual.