Patient Rights and Responsibilities:
You have the right to have access to the resources of the Hospital necessary for your care without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, sex, handicap, or source of payment.

To talk openly with and question your physician, in language you understand, about:
Your diagnosis and prescribed treatment.
Why treatments and tests are done and who does them.
The prognosis of your illness.
Your wish for a consultation or second opinion from another physician.
The need to transfer to another facility and of the alternatives to such a transfer.
Your wish to change physicians and/or hospitals.
Instructions for continuing health care requirements following your discharge.

You have a right to:
Receive an explanation of all documents you are asked to sign.
Change your mind about any procedure for which you have given your consent.
Refuse to sign a consent form you do not fully understand.
Refuse treatment and to be informed of the medical results of this action.
Refuse to participate in medical training programs and research projects.

You should expect:
Your personal privacy to be respected to the fullest extent consistent with the care prescribed.
Reasonable safety insofar as the Hospital practice and environment are concerned.
Access to people from outside the Hospital.
Records pertaining to your care, including the source of payment, to be kept confidential.
Access to your records to be granted only to you or to those persons to whom you grant written permission, or who are permitted by law.
To receive an itemized copy of your hospital bill.
To receive information about advance directives.

You have the responsibility to: Provide accurate, complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications and other matters related to your health.
Ask for an explanation if you do not understand documents you are asked to sign, or anything related to your care.
Follow the care prescribed or recommended to you by the physicians, nurses and other allied health care personnel, and remember you are responsible for your actions if you refuse treatment or do not follow instructions.
Know and follow the rules of the Hospital.
Keep appointments, and call to cancel and change an appointment as soon as possible.
Respect the rights and privacy of others.
Assure that the financial obligations associated with your care are fulfilled.

Complaints:

Patients, their families, visitors, or other persons have the right to register complaints concerning the quality of care or services provided by Habersham County Medical Center. Registering a complaint will not compromise a patient's care or compromise a patient's future access to care in the facility. Complaints may be registered verbally or in writing to any member of the Hospital staff. The compliant will be conveyed immediately to the staff of the Quality Improvement Department, who will in turn contact the manager of the department concerned. The department manager will contact the complainant in person, by telephone, or in writing and will submit summary of action taken or a plan for correcting the deficiency. A timely response will be provided to the person(s) making the complaint.


Should you have any concerns regarding patient care and safety that cannot be resolved through the hospital, you are encouraged to contact Joint Commission at complaint@jcaho.org or Office of Quality Monitoring, JCAHO, One Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181