Patients' Bill of Rights

In March 1977, President Clinton appointed the Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry (referred to here as the Commission) to develop a “Consumer Bill of Rights” to promote and ensure health care quality and value and to protect consumers and workers in the health care system. The Commission was composed of 34 members selected from the private sector. Members included representatives of consumer advocacy groups; institutional health care providers; health care professionals; health care insurers; health care purchasers; state and local government representatives; and experts in health care quality, financing, and administration. [Page 1579]In November 1997, the Commission submitted a report to the president containing the Patients' Bill of Rights.

The Patients' Bill of Rights has three major objectives: (1) to strengthen consumer confidence by ensuring that the health care system is fair and responsive to consumers' needs, provides consumers with credible and effective mechanisms to address their concerns, and encourages consumers to take an active role in improving and ensuring their health, (2) to acknowledge the importance of a strong relationship between patients and their health care professionals, and (3) to reaffirm the critical role consumers play in safeguarding their own health by establishing both rights and responsibilities for all participants in improving health care.

The Patients' Bill of Rights contains eight principal areas of rights and responsibilities:

• 1.
  Information disclosure: Patients have the right to receive accurate, easily understood information to help them make informed decisions about their health plans, professionals, and facilities.
• 2.
  Choice of providers and plans: Consumers have the right to a choice of health care providers that is sufficient to ensure access to appropriate high-quality health care.
• 3.
  Access to emergency services: Consumers have the right to access emergency health care services when and where the need arises.
• 4.
  Participation in treatment decisions: Consumers have the right and responsibility to fully participate in all decisions related to their health care. Consumers who are unable to fully participate in treatment decisions have the right to be represented by parents, guardians, family members, or other conservators.
• 5.
  Respect and nondiscrimination: Consumers have the right to considerate, respectful care from all members of the health care system at all times and under all circumstances. An environment of mutual respect is essential to maintain a quality health care system. Consumers who are eligible for coverage under the terms and conditions of a health plan or program or as required by law must not be discriminated against in marketing and enrollment practices based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or source of payment.
• 6.
  Confidentiality of health information: Consumers have the right to communicate with health care providers in confidence and to have the confidentiality of their individually identifiable health care information protected. Consumers also have the right to review and copy their own medical records and request amendments to their records.
• 7.
  Complaints and appeals: All consumers have the right to a fair and efficient process for resolving differences with their health plans, their health care providers, and the institutions that serve them, including a rigorous system of internal review and an independent system of external review.
• 8.
  Consumer responsibilities: In a health care system that protects consumers' rights, it is reasonable to expect and encourage consumers to assume reasonable responsibilities. Greater individual involvement by consumers in their care increases the likelihood of achieving the best outcomes and helpssupport a continuous quality improvement, cost-conscious environment.

Many other areas of the health care industry and various health care providers have developed their own Patients' Bill of Rights. For example, there is a Pharmacy Patient's Bill of Rights, a School of Dentistry Patient's Bill of Rights, and a Mental Health Patient's Bill of Rights, and the American Hospital Association has created its own Patient's Bill of Rights. Many state and local health care providers have established rights and responsibilities for individuals, such as the Child's Bill of Rights developed by the Children's Hospital of Central California.

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