Getting medical care can be complicated, especially for people with long-term conditions or chronic diseases. You don’t just receive treatment; you need to make decisions about your health care and how to live your life. It can be challenging to know your options and tell others about your choices.
Know Your Rights
Learning your rights and responsibilities as a patient is helpful in understanding your options and communicating your decisions. The American Medical Association notes that patients have the following rights:
To courtesy, respect, dignity, and timely, responsive attention to his or her needs.
To receive information from their physicians and to have opportunity to discuss the benefits, risks, and costs of appropriate treatment alternatives, including the risks, benefits and costs of forgoing treatment. Patients should be able to expect that their physicians will provide guidance about what they consider the optimal course of action for the patient based on the physician’s objective professional judgment.
To ask questions about their health status or recommended treatment when they do not fully understand what has been described and to have their questions answered.
To make decisions about the care the physician recommends and to have those decisions respected. A patient who has decision-making capacity may accept or refuse any recommended medical intervention.
To have the physician and other staff respect the patient’s privacy and confidentiality.
To obtain copies or summaries of their medical records.
To obtain a second opinion.
To be advised of any conflicts of interest their physician may have in respect to their care.
To continuity of care. Patients should be able to expect that their physician will cooperate in coordinating medically indicated care with other health care professionals, and that the physician will not discontinue treating them when further treatment is medically indicated without giving them sufficient notice and reasonable assistance in making alternative arrangements for care.
Many patient rights are protected by federal and state laws. New York State has a Patients' Bill of Rights for Hospitals, and another for diagnostic and treatment centers. They are available at health.ny.gov and must be posted on the walls of hospitals and clinics.
Understand Your Responsibilities
Medical providers may also outline patient responsibilities, since patient cooperation is important to giving the best care. Most medical professionals expect that patients will:
Treat medicals staff and fellow patients with respect.
Provide the most accurate and complete information you can about your medical condition and health history.
Report unexpected changes in your condition or new problems.
Let your health care providers know whether you understand the plan of care and what is expected of you.
Follow your treatment plan, or let providers know you choose not to follow the plan and take responsibility for the consequences.
The IPRO End-Stage Renal Disease Network Program has a guide to patient rights and responsibilities tailored to people with kidney disease and those on dialysis. It’s available at esrd.ipro.org and by calling the Kidney Foundation of WNY at 716-529-4390.
Ask Questions
It can be hard to remember everything you want to talk with your medical providers about. Writing down your questions before an appointment can help.
Common questions may be:
What options do I have to keep my disease from getting worse?
Are there symptoms I should be watching for?
Do my medications need to be changed or do my doses need to be adjusted?
What side effects can my treatments and medications cause?
What should I do if I miss a treatment or forget to take my medicine?
Do I need to change what I’m eating?
Should I plan to see a specialist?
The answers to these questions are important. It can help you remember the replies if you jot down notes, ask if you can record the conversation, or request materials that you can take home with you.
Being an active partner in your medical care allows your medical team to better understand your needs and values. It also helps you to understand treatment and better care for your own health.
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