Minnesota Patients' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

An aide in a Minnesota nursing home walks into a resident's room without knocking. A nurse in a residential home does not have time to find the name and phone number of a teenage resident's doctor. A hospital patient can't get an answer to her questions about her medications. What's wrong with these things? They're a violation of the Minnesota Health Care Bill of Rights, commonly called the Patients' Bill of Rights.

Definition

• The Health Care Bill of Rights defines and protects the rights of patients and residents in health care facilities. These facilities include hospitals, assisted-living homes, boarding care homes, nursing homes, acute care facilities, mental health facilities and residential homes for minors. The Minnesota Legislature passed the statute in 1973. It was most recently revised in 2009.

Privacy and Courtesy

• The Bill of Rights states that patients shall have the right to every consideration of their privacy, individuality and cultural identity in relation to their social, religious and psychological well-being. This includes medical treatment, confidentiality of records, married couples' privacy and personal privacy. The staff must provide courteous and respectful care, especially to older or vulnerable people.

Information About Rights

• Patients and residents must receive written information regarding their rights when they enter a facility. They must be given access to the facility's policies and reports on recent inspections by health officials. When patients, residents or their representatives ask for an explanation of the written Bill of Rights, they must receive it.

Planning Treatment

• The Minnesota law says that patients and residents have the right to participate in planning their medical and mental health treatment. Family members or designated representatives may also be a part of the planning process.

Information About Treatment

• A person receiving medical treatment has the right to receive complete, current information about her medical situation from the physician. This includes diagnosis, treatment, alternatives, risks and prognosis. Doctors should also inform patients about the possible medical and psychological results of treatment. Family members or caregivers can be included in this process.

Freedom From Maltreatment

• A patient or resident has the right to be treated with respect. Subjecting a person to intentional pain, injury, mental or emotional distress is prohibited. Also, nontherapeutic chemical or physical restraints cannot be used unless the person could injure himself or others. The Health Care Bill of Rights is supplemented by Minnesota's Vulnerable Adults Protection Act.

Issues and Grievances

• The State of Minnesota provides an ombudsman (mediator) to help resolve complaints or file a grievance against hospitals, nursing homes or other facilities. The Office of the Ombudsman for Long-Term Care also advises people on issues related to patient rights, health, safety, welfare and government benefits. Call the office, at [phone] or [phone].