Patient's Bill of Rights
Your Rights as a Patient
We at Quincy Medical Center support the rights of our patients. Because we want you to know your rights as a patient, here is a condensed version of the federal law and Massachusetts Patients’ Bill of Rights. We encourage you to take an active role in your plan of care, including understanding your treatment and care. If you have any questions, please contact the QMC Patient Advocate at 617-376-5678.
Patient Rights
- You have the right to obtain the name and specialty of the doctor or other person responsible for your care.
- You have a right to confidentiality of all records and communications concerning your medical history and treatment to the extent provided by law.
- You have a right to a prompt response to all reasonable requests.
- You have a right to request and receive an explanation as to the relationship, if any, of this hospital and your doctor to any other health care facility or educational institution, insofar as any such relationship relates to your care.
- You have a right to request and receive information about financial assistance and free health care.
- You have a right to obtain a copy of any rules or regulations of this hospital which may apply to your conduct as a patient.
- You have a right upon request to inspect your medical records, request an amendment to, or receive an accounting of disclosures regarding personal health information, and for a reasonable fee, receive a copy of your record.
- You have a right to receive a copy of your medical record free if you show that your request is to support a claim or appeal under any provisions of the Social Security Act in any federal or state financial needs-based benefit program.
- You have a right to refuse to be observed, examined or treated by students or any other staff without jeopardizing your access to care.
- You have a right to refuse to participate as a research subject and to refuse any care or examination when the primary purpose is educational or informational rather than therapeutic.
- You have a right to personal dignity and, to the extent reasonably possible, to privacy during medical treatment and other care.
- You have the right to have your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected.
- You have the right to request pastoral and other spiritual services.
- You have a right to prompt life-saving treatment without discrimination due to economic status or source of payment.
- You have the right, if you are a female rape victim of childbearing age, to receive medically and factually accurate written information prepared by the commissioner of public health about emergency contraception; to be promptly offered emergency contraception; and to be provided with emergency contraception upon request.
- You have a right, if refused treatment for economic status or lack of a source of payment, to prompt and safe transfer to a facility that agrees to provide treatment.
- You have a right to informed consent to the extent provided by law.
- You have a right, if suffering from any form of breast cancer, to complete information on all alternative treatments that are medically viable.
- You have a right, if you are a maternity patient, to receive information about the hospital's rate of cesarean sections and related statistics.
- You have a right to request and receive an itemized explanation of your medical bill.
- You have the right to file a grievance by calling the Patient Relation's care line at 781-340-8888, if you have concerns regarding your care and treatment. In addition, you have the right to file a grievance with either the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Health Care Quality (617-753-8000), 99 Chauncy Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02111; the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, 560 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02118; or The Joint Commission, Office of Quality Monitoring, 1 Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181.
- You have the right to be informed of your health status, be involved in care planning and treatment and be able to request or refuse treatment. This right must not be construed as a mechanism to demand the provision of treatment or services deemed medically necessary or inappropriate.
- You have the right to formulate advance directives and to have hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital comply with these directives.
- You have the right to have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital.
- You have the right to access advocacy or protective services and to be free from all forms of abuse and harassment.
- You have the rights to be free from seclusion and restraints of any form that are not medically necessary of are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by staff.
- You have the right to have your consent obtained prior to any recording or filming of care treatment and services provided to you which is made for purposes other than the identification, diagnosis or treatment.
- You have the right to be informed about outcomes or care, treatment, and services that have been provided including unanticipated outcomes.
- You have the right to effective communication and to receive information in a manner that you understand.
- You have the right to pain management.
Patients’ Responsibilities
As a QMC patient, we ask that you accept the following responsibilities. This will help us provide the best possible care and will foster an environment of respect and consideration.
- Please give your doctors, nurses, therapists and counselors the most accurate information about your medical history, present condition, medications, and other relevant aspects of your health
- If your condition changes or if you feel something is “different” about the way you feel, please tell your doctor or nurse right away
- If you experience pain, please tell your doctor or nurse and work with them to develop a pain management plan
- Please follow your doctors’ and nurses’ instructions. Any requests they make are in the best interest of your health and safety
- If you do not understand or have forgotten the instructions given by your caregivers, ask for clarification
- If you cannot comply with your doctors’ or nurses’ instructions, please let them know right away
- Please follow all hospital regulations
- Please be considerate of the rights of other patients and all members of the QMC staff
- Please be respectful of others’ personal possessions
- Please be respectful of hospital property
- Please provide accurate health insurance, managed care, or other financial information so we can work effectively with the necessary organizations to process your bill
Any patient who believes that his/her rights have been violated may submit complaints or questions to:
QMC Patient Advocate Quincy Medical Center
114 Whitwell Street
Quincy, MA 02169 617-376-5678
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Division of Health Care Quality
99 Chauncy Street, Second Floor
Boston, MA, 02111 617-753-8000
