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Patient Rights and Responsibilities

As a patient, you have the right to:

  • Receive care that will not be restricted, limited, or denied on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability.

  • Receive care in a safe setting.  Receive kind and respectful treatment from all hospital personnel.

  • Exercise cultural and spiritual beliefs that do not interfere with the well-being of others or the planned course of your medical therapy.

  • Be free from all forms of abuse, harassment, retaliation, humiliation, neglect, and financial or other exploitation.

  • Be free from restraint or seclusion of any form that is not medically necessary or that is used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.

  • Be informed at the time of admission of your right to decline being listed in the patient information registry, which is referred to as “no publicity status,” “no pub status” or simply “NP status.”

  • Know the name, identity and professional status of any person providing health care services to you, and to know who is primarily responsible for your care.

  • Receive complete and current information concerning your diagnosis in terms you can understand.

  • Receive an explanation of any proposed procedure or treatment, including a description of the nature and purpose of the procedure, known risks, serious side effects and treatment alternatives, including the option of no treatment.

  • Know if your care involves any experimental methods of treatment and have the right to consent or refuse.

  • Be informed by your practitioners of any health-related concerns or instructions for you to follow upon discharge from the hospital.

  • Examine your bill and receive an explanation of the charges regardless of the source of payment for your care.

Complaints and Grievances

Patients have the right to a fair, fast, and objective review of any complaint they have against Boone County Hospital, physicians, nurses, or other health care professionals. This includes complaints about patient care and safety, waiting times, operating hours, the conduct of Boone County Hospital personnel, and the adequacy of health care facilities without fear of recrimination.

  • Use Boone County Hospital's grievance process to submit a written or verbal complaint/grievance to a hospital representative, available by calling (515) 433-8488, or to your health care practitioners. If concerns about patient care and/or safety at Boone County Hospital have not been sufficiently addressed, patients are encouraged to contact Boone County Hospital's Administration at (515) 433-8481.

  • Receive a written response from Boone County Hospital regarding the patient grievance within 30 days from the receipt of the patient complaint.

  • Refer quality of care concerns, premature discharge grievances or beneficiary complaints to the Iowa Foundation for Medical Care, which is the external peer review organization for hospitals in Iowa. You may send your concern, in writing, to the Iowa Foundation for Medical Care, 6000 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266, or call (800) 752-7014.

  • Register complaints with the Health Facilities Division of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Patients may submit complaints in writing to the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, Health Facilities Division/Complaint Unit, Lucas State Office Building, 321 E. 12th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0083. You may also fax your complaint to (515) 281-7106 or call (515) 281-5457. You may also contact Iowa's designated QIO, Livanta, at 1-888-755-5580.

As a Patient you have certain responsibility for:

  • Provide accurate and complete information about the patient’s present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications and other matters relating to your health, including advance directives, and report whether or not you clearly understand the contemplated course of action and its anticipated effects.

  • Follow the treatment plan recommended by the practitioner primarily responsible for your care.  This may include following the instructions of nurses and other health care professionals as they implement your practitioner’s orders and enforce the applicable hospital rules and regulations

  • Accept the medical consequences if you refuse treatment or if you do not follow your practitioner’s instructions.  In the unlikely event you choose to leave the hospital against medical/physician advice, please inform your nurse, who will provide you with a release to sign.

  • Follow hospital rules and regulations regarding patient care and conduct.

  • Be considerate of the rights of other patients and staff, and assist in the control of noise and the number of visitors in your room.

  • Photos, videos and audiotapes of staff are not permitted without consent.

  • Assure the financial obligations of your care are fulfilled as promptly as possible.

Visitation privileges include the following:

  • Receive visitors whom you choose, including, but not limited to, your spouse or domestic partner, another family member or a friend.  You have the right to withdraw or deny consent at any time for any visitor.

  • Identify a person who may be present for emotional support during your stay, unless the individual’s presence interferes with others’ rights or safety or is not in your best interest medically, therapeutically or legally.  Your support person can make visitation decisions in the event you are unable to do so.

  • You will not be required to prove the relationship between yourself and a visitor, nor to have visitors prove their relationship to you, unless you are unable to communicate your wishes and a disagreement occurs between two or more people over whether a particular individual should be allowed to visit. 

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