The Patient's Bill of Rights in California

California's legal code section 599 declared the legislative intent to protect the fundamental rights of all patients, including patients' access to information about their treatment and the facility, and to receive adequate care in clean and safe surroundings. Additional legislation details patient rights

Right to Records

• California's Health and Safety Code provides patients with access to their own medical records. Adults, minors old enough to consent to treatment and legal representatives can inspect and receive copies of medical records. Record keepers have the right to charge reasonable fees for preparing copies.

Prescriptions

• Pharmacists may not refuse to fill prescriptions unless the medication is unavailable or the pharmacist has good cause to believe the prescription could harm the patient---for example, the medication could interact dangerously with other prescriptions. Pharmacists with personal objections to filling a prescription must arrange for another pharmacy to fill it.

Preexisting Conditions

• California law provides greater protection than federal laws for coverage of preexisting conditions. Even group health plans of employers with only two employees, and any health care service covering at least three members, must cover an enrollee's preexisting conditions once she has been enrolled for six months.

Managed Care Plans

• The Knox-Keene Act of 1975 provided comprehensive protection to the 20 million Californians who belong to managed care plans such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs). The law protects plan participants from actions such as termination of coverage after filing a claim.