Skip to content

Patient Rights and Responsibilities

As a patient you have:

The right to impartial access to considerate and respectful care with dignity.

The right to care that respects a patient’s personal values and beliefs.

The right to be reasonably informed concerning decisions about his/her care within the boundaries of the law and with respect to the philosophy of West Feliciana Parish Hospital, including the right to refuse or discontinue treatment and the right to have an advance directive or living will, and the right to be informed of unanticipated outcomes.

The right to information, including that contained in his/her own medical record, necessary to enable the patient to make treatment decisions.

The right to choose a representative decision maker to the extent permitted by law.

The right to participate in the consideration of ethical issues that arise in his/her care.

The right to be informed of any human experimentation, research, or educational projects affecting his/her care of treatment.

The right “within the limits of the law” to personal privacy and confidentiality of information including the right to expect discussion or consultation involving his/her case will be discretely held and the individuals not directly involved in his/her care will not be present without his/her permission.

The right of a patient to have his/her medical record read only by individuals directly involved in his/her treatment or in the monitoring of the records quality. Any other individuals wanting access to a patient’s medical record must have written authorization from the patient or that of his/her legally authorized representative.

The right to know the name and professional status of the people involved with his/her care. This includes the patient’s rights to know of the existence of any professional relationship to any other health care or educational institutions involved in his/her care.

The right to refuse to talk with or see anyone not officially connected with the hospital, including visitors, not directly involved in his/her care.

The right to be interviewed and examined in surroundings designed to assure reasonable visual and auditory privacy. This includes the right to have a person of one’s own sex present during certain parts of a physical examination, treatment, or procedure by a health professional of the opposite sex.

The right to expect reasonable patient safety in so far as the hospital practices and environment are concerned.

The right of access to people outside the hospital by means of visitors and by verbal and written communication.

The right to be informed by the practitioner responsible for his care, or his delegate, of any continuing healthcare requirements following discharge from the hospital.

The right to be free from restraints used in the provision of acute medical and surgical care unless clinically necessary.

The right to be free from seclusion and restraints used in behavioral management unless clinically necessary.

The right to be free from mental, physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

The right to be assessed for pain and the management of pain.

The right to be informed of the hospital rules including the right to openly, without repercussion, voice complaints regarding the care received and to have those complaints reviewed and resolved.

The right to have information about the hospital’s mechanism for the initiation, review, and resolution of patient complaints. The procedure is as follows:

  • The patient or a staff member completes the Special Needs and Concerns form.
  • This form is forwarded to Administration, a review is conducted, and the appropriate hospital personnel will respond back to the patient within 3 working days.
  • If the response is not satisfactory, an Ethics Resolution of Conflict Committee will meet within 2 weeks, then a written response will be provided to the patient within 10 days.
  • If this response is not satisfactory, the following agency may be contacted (by the patient):
    Department of Health & Hospitals
    Phone: (225) 342-9500 or 1-866-280-7737
    CMS (Medicare/Medicaid)
    Phone: 1-877-267-2323

Patient Responsibilities

West Feliciana Parish Hospital requests that all patients adhere to the following patient responsibilities to ensure delivery of the highest quality healthcare possible.

The patient or their representative is responsible for:

  • Following hospital rules and regulations affecting patient care and conduct.
  • Conducting himself/herself in a manner that is considerate of the rights of other patients and medical staff regarding privacy, quiet, and proper medical care.
  • Respecting the property of other persons and West Feliciana Parish Hospital.
  • The conduct of his/her visitors, ensuring that other patients are not deprived of their rights to privacy, quiet, and medical care.
  • Cooperating with his/her treatment staff and accepting the consequences of his/her actions if he/she refuses treatment or does not follow the practitioner’s instructions.
  • Providing a complete and accurate medical history to the best of their knowledge, as well as information concerning complications or unexpected changes in their condition to his/her physician.
  • Being open and honest about whether a proposed course of treatment is understood, and whether patient discharge orders and responsibilities are understood.
  • Assurance that the financial obligations for the health care provided are fulfilled, which includes providing accurate and timely information about sources of payment and ability to meet financial obligations.
  • Following the treatment plan recommended by the practitioner primarily responsible for his/her care.
  • Keeping appointments and, if unable, notifying the appropriate practitioner or the hospital.
Back To Top