Patient Responsibilities

The collaborative nature of health care requires that patients – or their families/surrogates – participate in their care. The effectiveness of care and a patient’s satisfaction with the course of treatment depend, in part, on the patient fulfilling certain responsibilities.

Communication
Patients are responsible for providing information about past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications and other matters related to health status. To participate effectively in decision making, patients must be encouraged to take responsibility for requesting additional information or clarification about their health status or treatment when they do not fully understand information and instructions. Patients are also responsible for ensuring that the health care institution has a copy of their written advance directive if they have one. Advance directives are written instructions that convey to your doctors and your family what kinds of treatments you want in case you become unable to make medical decisions for yourself. Advance directives include:

• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care- a document that appoints someone to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to express your wishes.
• A Living Will- a document that allows you to describe your wishes about the discontinuance of death-delaying procedures if you become terminally ill and are unable to express your wishes.

For more information, contact your physician, or the Department of Religion, Health and Human Values at ext. 2-5571. Patients are responsible for informing their physicians and other caregivers if they anticipate problems in following prescribed treatment.

Awareness
Patients should also be aware of the hospital’s obligation to be reasonably efficient and equitable in providing care to other patients and the community. The hospital’s rules and regulations are designed to help the hospital meet this obligation. Patients and their families are responsible for making reasonable accommodations to the needs of the hospital, other patients, medical staff and hospital employees. Patients are responsible for providing necessary information for insurance claims and for working with the hospital to make payment arrangements.

A person’s health depends on much more than health care services. Patients are responsible for recognizing the impact of their lifestyle on their personal health.