Rights of Patients

The Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center at Newport Hospital recognizes that people's basic rights to independence of expression, decision, action and personal dignity are essential elements of quality health care. To ensure that these rights are preserved for our patients, it is our policy to honor these values and to uphold the following rights of patients.

1. You have the right to considerate and respectful care.
2. You have the right to know, upon request, the name of the physician coordinating your care.
3. You have the right to know, upon request, the name of the physician or other clinician responsible for conducting any specific test or other medical procedure performed by the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center in connection with your treatment.
4. You have the right to accept or refuse medical care or treatment to the extent permitted by law and the right to be informed of the medical consequences of your acceptance or refusal.
5. You have the right to designate a representative to make health care decisions on your behalf and the right to formulate advance directives.
6. You and your legally designated representative have the right to the information you need to make treatment decisions, including your condition, proposed treatments and procedures, alternative treatments and procedures, potential benefits and drawbacks of each, recuperation problems and likelihood of success.
7. You have the right to privacy and the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center will respect that right to the extent consistent with providing adequate medical care and with efficient administration of the hospital. Our medical personnel have the right to discuss your care discreetly and to examine you.
8. Your right to privacy and confidentiality extend to all medical records and other records pertaining to your medical treatment, except as otherwise provided by law.
9. You have the right to request assistance from the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center in planning your discharge.
10. If the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center transfers you to another facility, you have the right to know the reason for and the alternatives to the transfer.
11. You have the right to expect the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center to respond in a reasonable manner to your or your doctor's request for medical services, as well as for other services customarily rendered by the hospital, as long as the services do not require your doctor's approval and are not inconsistent with your treatment.
12. You have the right to know, upon request, the identities of all other health care and educational facilities that the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center has authorized to participate in your treatment, and the nature of the relationship between the hospital and those facilities.
13. You have the right to be informed if the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center proposes that you participate in any experimentation project, and you have the right to refuse to participate in any project.
14. You have the right to examine, upon request, an explanation of the bill rendered by Newport Hospital, whether it is to be paid by you or your insurance company.
15. You have the right to examine, upon request, any pertinent hospital rules and regulations that specifically govern your treatment.
16. You have the right to treatment without discrimination based on your race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin or source of payment.
17. You have the right to be involved in your care, including managing pain effectively.
18. You have the right to be free from any forms of restraint and seclusion that are not medically necessary or that are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.
19. You have the right to a summarized medical bill within 30 days of your discharge from the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center. You have the right to an itemized copy of your bill if you request one.
20. You have the right to use a personal television set, upon request, if the television complies with Underwriters Laboratory standards and OSHA standards and if it is classified as a portable television.

Patient responsibilities

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• Addressing complaints and conflicts