aghabog...
A search for healthcare "bill of rights" turns up
20,600 references, so, yes, there are models you can
use. Most of those from that search are authored by
individual hospitals, treatment centers, or states.
For example, the Bloomington Hospital in Indiana, has theirs
on this page: http://www.bhhs.org/rights.html and states:
"Patient Bill of Rights"
"As a patient at Bloomington Hospital you have the right:
# To considerate and respectful care,
# To be informed about your condition and treatment in
understandable terms,
# To receive information from your physician necessary
to give informed consent prior to the start of any
procedure or treatment,
# To refuse treatment and be informed of the medical
consequences of your actions,
# To every consideration of privacy concerning your
own medical care program,
# To expect that all communications and records pertaining
to your care will be treated as confidential,
# To request hospital services and to be completely
informed if transfer to another hospital becomes necessary,
# To obtain information as to the relationship of this
hospital to other health care and educational institutions,
# To be advised when the hospital proposes to engage in,
or perform, any human experimentation affecting your
care or treatment,
# To expect continuity of care and to be informed of
home health care requirements prior to discharge,
# To examine and receive an explanation of your bill
regardless of source of payment,
# To know which hospital rules and regulations apply
to your conduct as a patient,
# To expect equal medical treatment regardless of race,
creed, national origin, age, handicap, veterans status
or gender."
You will find that most of them are similarly generic.
I'm not sure how patient rights would be differentiated
in regard to seniors, as most of them are written in a
manner which includes the concerns of seniors.
There is, of course a strong movement toward a National
Healthcare Bill of Rights, especially now that there is
a trend toward for-profit managed-care HMOs, which are
proving to provide a lesser quality of care than prior
providers. A search for healthcare "National Bill of Rights"
gave a link to an extrememly thorough discussion of the
subject by George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H., who notes:
"...in early 1973, the American Hospital Association issued
a patients' bill of rights. Although the 12-point bill
was vague and general, it was the first such document
and included many basic concepts of patients' rights,
such as the rights to receive respectful care, to be
given complete information about diagnosis and prognosis,
to refuse treatment, to refuse to participate in
experiments, to have privacy and confidentiality
maintained, and to receive a reasonable response
to a request for services." ...from:
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/www/sph/lw/pvl/lim/national-98-mar5.htm
As it turns out, George himself was the author of that
initial patients' Bill of rights, as noted in footnote
3, at the bottom of that page. I highly recommend that you
read the entire discussion on that page, however, some of
the highlights, in terms of patient rights, are:
"... in his January State of the Union address, President
Bill Clinton called on Congress to enact a national
bill of rights in health care. The President said,
"You have the right to know all your medical options,
not just the cheapest. You have the right to choose
the doctor you want for the care you need. You have
the right to emergency room care, wherever and whenever
you need it. You have the right to keep your medical
records confidential.'"...
..."The most important of all patients' rights, the right
to informed consent, was firmly established in 1972
in a series of court opinions."...
..."patients' rights based on autonomy quickly became
the norm"...
..."in Roe v. Wade. The Court held that pregnant women
have a constitutional right of privacy that includes
their right to continue or terminate a pregnancy in
the absence of the state's ability to demonstrate a
countervailing and compelling state interest. The
case has also come to stand for the proposition that
the Constitution limits interference by the state in
the doctor–patient relationship."...
..."the rights to receive respectful care, to be given
complete information about diagnosis and prognosis,
to refuse treatment, to refuse to participate in
experiments, to have privacy and confidentiality
maintained, and to receive a reasonable response
to a request for services."...
..." the right to refuse any medical treatment,
including life-sustaining treatment. Moreover,
a patient, while competent, is authorized by statute
to designate another person to make treatment decisions
for the patient, should he or she become incompetent
(a health care agent or proxy), and the patient can
make his or her wishes known in advance through a
living will."...
..."Patients were also granted access to their medical
records, and the right to basic emergency care was
protected. Proposals for patients'-rights advocates
or ombudspersons were not adopted, however, and
patients were generally left on their own to exercise
their rights. They had recourse to the courts only
when their rights had been violated and they had been
harmed."...
He goes on to note that the managed care companies are
attempting to treat us as consumers, vs patients, so
the focus has shifted somewhat from defining patient
rights, as such, to protecting consumer rights. He goes
on to suggest his proposal for the essentials of a National
Bill of Rights:
"Many of our rights as patients have already been articulated
by the courts. Nonetheless, they often remain difficult for
patients and providers alike to understand and are
especially difficult for sick people to exercise. Thus,
enumerating all the essential rights in one document will
facilitate an understanding of these rights and make it
easier for patients to exercise them in their dealings
with physicians, hospitals, and health plans. To this
end, I believe a federal bill of patients' rights must
include the five core provisions outlined below."
"The Right to Treatment Information"
"The patient has a right to informed participation
in all decisions involving his or her health care,
including a clear, concise explanation, in lay terms,
of all proposed treatments, the reasonable medical
alternatives (whether or not they are covered by the
plan), the risks of death and serious complications
associated with each alternative (including no
treatment), likely problems of recuperation, and the
probability of a successful outcome (including the
physician's experience with the treatment and its
outcomes). The patient has a right to know the
diagnosis and prognosis in as much detail as he or
she desires, as well as the existence of any research
protocols that are relevant to the patient's condition
and their availability. A competent patient will not
be subjected to any procedures or tests without first
providing informed consent. For procedures that entail
a risk of death or serious disability, all aspects of
informed consent will be explained on a written form
requiring the signature of the patient or the person
with the authority to make treatment decisions for
the patient, if the patient is incompetent."
"The patient has a right to know the identity,
professional status, and clinical experience
(including success rates) of all persons responsible
for his or her care. The patient has a right to know
about all financial arrangements and incentives that
might affect his or her care. Any patient who does
not speak English has a right to an interpreter."
"The Right to Privacy and Dignity"
"The patient has a right to privacy of both person
and information with respect to all medical and
nursing personnel, allied health care professionals,
health plan and facility staff members, and other
patients. All patients must be treated with dignity
and without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, national origin, disability, age,
socioeconomic status, or source of payment. The
patient has a right to all the information contained
in his or her medical record and has a right to
examine the record on request, correct mistakes,
and receive a copy of it. No one not directly
involved in a patient's care or in quality assurance
should have access to the patient's medical records
without a written authorization by the patient that
is dated and limited in time and that specifies the
medical information to be disclosed. Further
disclosure of medical information without
authorization is prohibited. The patient has a
right not to be touched or treated by any particular
physician or health care provider, including medical
and nursing students."
"The Right to Refuse Treatment"
"The patient has the right to refuse any drug, test,
procedure, or treatment, whether the purpose is
therapy, research, or education. A patient may not
be discriminated against or denied any benefit by
a health plan or health care professional because
of the refusal to be touched or treated by a
particular provider. A patient has the right to
execute a health care proxy or a living will to
direct treatment or nontreatment if the patient
is no longer capable of making health care decisions,
and health care professionals are obligated to honor
these advance directives."
"The Right to Emergency Care"
"The patient has a right to prompt and competent
attention in an emergency. The patient may not be
transferred to another facility without his or her
consent and, in any event, not before the patient's
condition has been stabilized and it has been
determined that the transfer is in the patient's
best interests because of superior medical care.
If the patient does not agree to the transfer,
he or she may not be transferred."
"The Right to an Advocate"
"The patient has the right to the services of an
independent patients'-rights advocate with the
authority to help the patient assert all the rights
specified in the bill of rights. In addition, a
patient in a hospital or other health care facility
has the right to reasonable visitation, parents
have the right to stay with their child, and
relatives have the right to stay with patients 24
hours a day. The patient has the right to have a
friend or relative present during all consultations,
examinations, and procedures, including the
induction of anesthesia."
"Additional provisions of a national patients' bill
of rights will involve contract-based consumer
protection. How specifically such provisions are
spelled out will depend on the extent to which
Congress believes health-plan contracts must be
regulated. In any event, the following obligations
of health plans should be included. No health plan
may interfere with or limit communication between
the patient and his or her health care provider.
Health plans must provide members with a reasonable
choice of qualified primary care physicians and
reasonable access to specialists. Health plans must
disclose to members any and all financial
arrangements that might encourage physicians to
limit or restrict care, referrals to specialists,
or recommendation of noncovered treatments. Health
plans must provide payment for emergency services
under circumstances that a prudent layperson would
consider an emergency. Health plans must provide
timely access to an independent appeals mechanism
for denial or termination of benefits."
"The patient has a right to a copy of the entire
contract for his or her insurance or health plan
and to competent counseling in selecting a health
plan. The patient has a right, regardless of the
source of payment, to examine and receive an
itemized and detailed explanation of all services
rendered. The patient has a right to timely prior
notice of termination of eligibility for coverage
or denial of a health care benefit, with an
opportunity to contest the termination or denial
in a timely and fair manner before an independent,
qualified, and neutral decision maker."
Keep in mind that these are his proposals for a National
Bill of Rights, some of which have, and have not, been
included in current state or provider statements of
patient rights.
A search on George, or Annas GJ, produces an astonishing
491 hits, one of which lists his works extensively. I
believe you'll find him an inexhaustible reference on
this subject, as indicated here:
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Departments/PageMain.asp?DepartmentID=95&Page=6685
Another right, which is less commonly discussed, is
among the patient rights outlined by the Veterans
Administration in the US Code, on this page:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partv_chapter73_subchapteriii_.html
"Nondiscrimination against alcohol and drug abusers
and persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus."
I think this should provide the basis for formulating
a comprehensive bill of rights for Seniors. Additionally,
you may want to look at some of the Bills proposed by
Congressman Carolyn McCarthy in PDF format here:
http://www.house.gov/carolynmccarthy/seniors.pdf
or viewable in your browser here:
http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:ADlpaj_cMxUC:www.house.gov/carolynmccarthy/seniors.pdf+HR+274+Seniors+Healthcare+Bill+of+Rights&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Searches done, via Google:
healthcare "bill of rights"
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=healthcare+%22bill+of+rights%22&btnG=Google+Search
healthcare "national bill of rights"
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=healthcare+%22national+bill+of+rights%22
seniors healthcare "national bill of rights"
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=seniors+healthcare+%22national+bill+of+rights%22
Annas GJ. The rights of hospital patients
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=Annas+GJ.+The+rights+of+hospital+patients
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