Patient Bill of Rights

WestHealth is compliant with the Minnesota Patient Bill of Rights. Subdivisions 4 – 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18 - 20 of 144.651 of the Minnesota Health Care Bill of Rights applies to outpatient centers.

Subdivision 4: Information about rights: Patients shall at admission be told that there are legal rights for their protection during their stay at the facility or throughout their course of treatment and maintenance in the community and that these are described in an accompanying written statement of the applicable rights and responsibilities set forth in this section. Reasonable accommodations shall be made for those with communication impairments and those who speak a language other than English. Current facility policies, inspection findings of state and local health authorities, and further explanation of the written statement of rights shall be available to patients, residents, their guardians or their chosen representatives upon reasonable request to the administrator or other designated staff person, consistent with chapter 13, the Data Practices Act, and section 626.557, relating to vulnerable adults.
Subdivision 5: Courteous treatment: Patients have the right to be treated with courtesy and respect for their individuality by employees of or persons providing service in a health care facility.
Subdivision 6: Appropriate health care: Patients shall have a right to appropriate medical and personal care based on individual needs. This right is limited where the service is not reimbursable by public or private resources.
Subdivision 7: Physician’s identity: Patients shall have or be given, in writing, the name, business address, telephone number, and specialty, of any, of the physician responsible for coordination of their care. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient’s care record, the information shall be given to the patient’s guardian or other person designated by the patient as his or her representative.
Subdivision 8: Relationship with other health services: Patients who receive services from an outside provider are entitled, upon request, to be told the identity of the provider. Information shall include the name of the outside provider, the address, and a description of the service which may be rendered. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient’s care record, the information shall be given to the patient’s guardian or other person designated by the patient as his or her representative.
Subdivision 9: Information about treatment: Patients shall be given by their physicians’ complete and current information concerning their diagnosis, treatment, alternatives, risks, and prognosis as required by the physician’s legal duty to disclose. This information shall be in terms and language the patient can reasonably be expected to understand. Patients may be accompanied by a family member or other chosen representative, or both. This information shall include the likely medical or major psychological results of the treatment and its alternatives. In cases where it is medically inadvisable, as documented by the attending physician in a patient’s medical record, the information shall be given to the patient’s guardian or other person designated by the patient as his or her representative. Individuals have the right to refuse this information. Every patient suffering from any form of breast cancer shall be fully informed, prior to or at the time of admission and during her stay, of all alternative effective methods of treatment of which the treating physician is knowledgeable, including surgical, radiological, or chemotherapeutic treatments or combinations of treatments and the risks associated with each of those methods.
Subdivision 12: Right to refuse care: Competent patients shall have the right to refuse treatment based on the information required in subdivision 9. Patients who refuse treatment, medication, or dietary restrictions shall be informed of the likely medical or major psychological results of the refusal, with documentation in the individual medical record, in cases where a patient or resident is incapable of understanding the circumstances but has not been adjudicated incompetent, or when legal requirements limit the right to refuse treatment, the conditions and circumstances shall be fully documented by the attending physician in the patient’s medical record.
Subdivision 13: Experimental research: Written informed consent must be obtained prior to a patient’s participation in experimental research. Patients and residents have the right to refuse participation. Both consent and refusal shall be documented in the individual care record.
Subdivision 15: Treatment privacy. Patients shall have the right to respectfulness and privacy as it relates to their medical and personal care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are confidential and shall be conducted discretely. Privacy shall be respected during toileting, bathing and other activities of personal hygiene, expect as needed for patient safety or assistance.
Subdivision 16: Confidentiality of records: Patients shall be assured confidential treatment of their personal and medical records, and may approve or refuse their release to any individual outside the facility. Residents shall be notified when personal records are requested by any individual and may select someone to accompany them when the records or information are the subject of a personal interview. Copies of records and written information from the records shall be made available in accordance with this subdivision and sections 144.291 to 144.298. This right does not apply to compliant investigations and inspections by the Department of Health, where required by third party payment contracts, or where otherwise provided by law.
Subdivision 18: Responsive service. Patients shall have the right to a prompt and reasonable response to their questions and requests.
Subdivision 19: Personal Privacy. Patients and residents shall have the right to every consideration of their privacy, individuality, and cultural identity as related to their social, religious, and psychological well-being. Facility staff shall respect the privacy of a resident’s room by knocking on the door and seeking consent before entering, except in an emergency or where clearly inadvisable.
Subdivision 20: Grievances: Patients shall be encouraged and assisted, throughout their stay in a facility or their course of treatment, to understand and exercise their right as patients, residents and citizens. Patients may voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services to facility staff and others of their choice, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal, including threat of discharge. Notice of the grievance procedure of the facility or program, as well as addresses and telephone numbers for the Office of Health facility Complaints and the area nursing home ombudsman pursuant to the Older Americans act, section 307(a) (12) shall be posted in a conspicuous place.

If you or your family has any questions, concerns or wish to file a grievance, please talk with your health care provider. For more information, contact:

Jeffry Roseland
WestHealth, Inc.
2855 Campus Drive
Plymouth, MN 55441
Phone: 763-577-7087
Email: jeffry.roseland@westhealth.com

Visit www.medicare.gov, or call
1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4427)
and ask for a Medicare Ombudsman.
TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

You may also file a grievance with:

Office of the Health Facilities Complaints
85 East Seventh Place, Suite 300
St. Paul, MN 55164-0970
651-215-8702 or 800-369-7994

For a printable version of this patient bill of rights, please click here.