A patient has a lot of rights and responsibilities when undergoing treatment. He/she is encouraged to ask questions and participate in the treatment process. It is not recommended that a patient keep quiet when not satisfied with the care given. Patients are supposed to be active and informed.
A Patient’s Rights
Good care is a patient’s right. It is supposed to be given by qualified and experienced specialists. When a patient is not satisfied with the care given by health care specialists, he/she is supposed to inform the hospital staff since they have a right to good care. A patient has the right to be attended by a qualified and experienced health care specialist. Qualified health care specialists offer the highest quality of health care.
Privacy consideration is a patient’s right (Buetow & Elwyn, 2007). It is unethical for health care specialists to disclose confidential information of a patient to a third party. All clinical information regarding consultation, treatment and case discussion should be treated as confidential.
Patients have a right to be given emergency care without any delay. This could be ambulatory or inside the hospital. There should be no delays when giving emergency care so as to save a patient. Patients have a right to information concerning their diagnosis, care and treatment. If there is a change in treatment and care, they should be informed. Patients should be informed of any possible complications.
It is the right of a patient to refuse some drugs, some procedures or treatment. Patients may refuse some treatments if they find them painful to undertake. However, a health care specialist should warn a patient of the consequences of refusing some drugs or treatments. It is the right of a patient to receive either long-term or short-term care without discrimination. Patients are not supposed to be discriminated according to their race, mental health, sex, national origin or religion.
Patients who do not communicate in English have a right to be given an interpreter. Interpreters are important so that a health care specialist can obtain clinical information of a patient.
A patient’s Responsibilities
A patient has various responsibilities during his/her treatment. A patient is supposed to provide clinical information to health care specialists. The clinical information includes past and present medication, illness and hospitalization (Wilson, 1998). It is the responsibility of a patient to question nurses or doctors of any treatment that he/she does not understand.
It is the responsibility of a patient to follow the instructions of hospital staffs. This increases their caring efforts. A patient is supposed to report any emergency to hospital staffs (Wilson, 1998). An emergency can arise if there is a medical error committed by health care specialist when administering health care. A patient is supposed to treat nurses, doctors and other hospital staffs with respect. This he/she does by following all safety regulations.
Summary
I selected this article because it clearly highlights and discusses various rights and responsibilities of a patient. It clearly argues that a patient has to be informed of his/her rights and responsibilities when receiving treatments. This article is relevant to the course because health care deals with giving health care to a patient. Therefore, it is important that patients know their rights and responsibilities to enhance their treatment.
References
Buetow, S., & Elwyn, G. (2007). A Patient’s Rights and Responsibilities. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32(2), 260–265.
Wilson, C.L. (1998). Seeking a balance: Patient responsibilities in institutional health care. Med Law Int, 3(2), 183–95.