About Virginia Patient's Bill of Rights

Virginia adheres to the national American Hospital Association's Patient's Bill of Rights, which was first instituted in 1973 and has become a mainstay of medical professional care in Virginia since then. The Patient's Bill of Rights is aimed at ensuring that patients receive consistent and high-level care at medical facilities throughout the state of Virginia.

History

• The hospitals in Virginia all belong to the American Hospital Association (AHA) which instituted a Patient Bill of Rights in 1973.The Patient Bill of Rights was introduced in order to protect both the patient and the doctor and ensure that the patient is making informed decisions about medical treatment. The Patient Bill of Rights has been amended several times, with the most recent change in 2001 marking the first time that the Patient Bill of Rights was seen as a bipartisan (Democratic and Republican) issue. In 2003, the Patient Bill of Rights became The Patient Care Partnership, with a greater emphasis on patient rights and responsibilities.

Patient Bill of Rights in Virginia

• Virginia hospitals use The Patient Care Partnership: Understanding Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities, as a forum for open communication between medical professionals and patients, which ultimately is geared to protect both caregivers and patients and their families. While guided by the American Hospital Associations' terminology, Virginia hospitals use a simplified checklist to ensure that patients fully understand both their rights and responsibilities with respect to caregivers and other patients in Virginian facilities.

Patient Rights

• The Patient Bill of Rights allows patients and their family members to have decision-making roles in outcomes affecting their medical well-being. It ensures that patients have access to a full understanding of their diagnoses and treatments. It allows for patients to know who is treating them and to refuse treatment at any time. The Patient Bill of Rights in Virginia clearly outlines a complaint procedure that ultimately protects patients from discomfort or abuse by caregivers.

Patient Responsibilities

• The Patient Bill of Rights also protects medical professionals as it fully outlines each hospital's responsibilities and the rights of medical professionals, as well as the responsibility of patients. The patient responsibilities include informing medical professionals of basic medical information that is full and accurate so doctors can effectively and efficiently treat patients. Patients are also responsible for informing caregivers when they have questions or complaints regarding their diagnoses or treatment plans.

Sceptical Speculation

• While the Patient Bill of Rights in Virginia and throughout the United States is extensive, there is speculation that the document is not fully adhered to and that patients do not have as many rights as the bill suggests. In hospital settings, there is often a frantic energy and medical professional are not always able to discuss diagnoses and treatment in great detail. While the bill is important, some believe it needs to be better implemented in practice.