Patient Rights and Responsibilities

St. Luke’s employees and health care providers will show you respect, maintain your dignity and make you feel as comfortable as possible while you are receiving care from us. Good health care is a partnership. You can help by providing accurate and timely information to your health care providers, asking questions, and following your individualized care plan. We want you and your family to make informed choices about your plan of care.

Respect and Consideration
Our staff will tell you their names and will call you by your name. We will listen when you have a problem. We will answer your questions. If you do not understand what we tell you, please let us know.
We ask that you and your family show respect for other patients, visitors and staff and follow our rules regarding visiting hours, no smoking and the use of cell phones.

Personal Privacy
When being examined, we will close the door, close the curtains, or may ask your visitors to leave the room during the exam. Because St. Luke’s is a clinical education site for health care students, they may be involved in your care. If health care students are in your room, or involved in your care, you have the right to know why.

You have the right to keep your stay in the hospital a private matter. When you are admitted to the hospital, you will be given a choice as to whether others will be allowed to know that you are in the hospital. Please talk with your family before making this decision. If you choose to keep your hospital stay private, we will honor your decision and no one will be told that you are a patient in the hospital. This means we will be unable to accept any flowers, mail, or telephone calls for you.
If you desire private telephone conversations, you have the right to access the space and a telephone appropriate to your needs, as long as this does not interfere with the care, treatment, and services being provided to you.

Confidentiality
Information about you and your care will be kept completely confidential (private). Your medical records are private and only you or other authorized people or agencies are allowed to see them. You have the right to see your medical records. To see your records, you will need to give us a request in writing. It may take a day or two for us to make your medical records available. (Read St. Luke’s Notice of Privacy Practices for more information.)

Notification
When you are admitted to the hospital, you have the right to have your doctor, a family member, or other person of your choice notified right away.

Communication
St. Luke’s staff and health care providers will tell you about your condition (illness) and treatment, and how well your treatment is working. When it is appropriate, this information will also be shared with your family. If it is not medically possible for you to provide the name of a family member, this information will be shared with an appropriate person on your behalf.

If you require special accommodations for vision, hearing, speech, language, or cognitive impairment, please tell Admitting staff or your nurse and we will do everything possible to meet these needs. There is no charge for these services.

Information, Consent and Decisions About Your Care
You have the right to get information from your doctor about your illness and treatment. This will help you make decisions about your care. Before you have a treatment or procedure that requires your consent, your caregiver will make sure that your doctor has answered all of your questions about the treatment or procedure. If you have more questions, please tell your caregiver.

You have the right to say “no” to any treatment. If you do not want the treatment, you will be told what could happen to your health as a result. You may be asked to sign a form telling us that you do not want the recommended treatment.

You, or when appropriate, your family will be told about unexpected medical problems or outcomes that have a bad effect on your health or may later have a bad effect on your health.

Research
Research is an important part of finding better treatments. As a patient at St. Luke’s, you may be asked to participate in research or a clinical trial for your illness or treatment. We will tell you about the risks and benefits of participating in the research. We will first get your permission (informed consent) by asking you to sign a form that tells us you understand the research or clinical trial and that we have your permission to proceed. You have the right to say “no” to research or clinical trials. Saying “no” will not affect the quality of the traditional care and treatment you will receive.

Medication Safety
You have the right to know the name of all drugs ordered by your doctor, the dosage, the reason it is being given and the known possible side effects. To help your caregivers ensure safety, always check to make sure that the drug and the dosage are correct. If you believe the drug or the dosage is wrong, tell your caregiver. Be sure to tell your caregiver about any other drugs, herbal products, food supplements or vitamins you are taking. Also tell your caregiver if you are allergic to any foods or medicine.

Equipment Safety
Patients and their family members and visitors should never touch or adjust medical equipment. If you need help, please use the call light.

Pain Management
We want you to be as comfortable as possible. Your caregiver will work with you to control your pain. If you are in pain, please tell your caregiver.

Security
You have the right to be cared for in a safe setting and to be free from all mental, physical, sexual and verbal abuse, neglect, and exploitation or harassment from staff, students, volunteers, other patients, visitors, and/or family members. We also expect our patients and their family members to not abuse or harass our employees or any other person at St. Luke’s. Anyone who is abusive or harasses others may be asked to leave St. Luke’s or find care elsewhere.
Protective and advocacy services may be called for free at the following phone numbers:

Child Protection Reporting
1-800-600-6474

Idaho Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-669-3176

Adult Protection Reporting
1-800-859-0321

Office of Civil Rights
1-800-362-1710

State Council on Developmental Disabilities
1-800-544-2433

Restraints
You have the right to be free from restraints, unless your physician orders restraints to help keep you or others safe.

Advance Directives
Advance Directives are documents, such as a Living Will or a Durable Medical Power of Attorney, that allow you to name the person you would like to make health care decisions for you if you are unable, and the kind of care you would like if you become terminally ill or are dying. These documents tell us what you want us to do about your end-of-life care if you are unable to tell us your wishes at a later date. Click here for more information about Advance Directives. You may ask about Advance Directives when you are admitted to the hospital, or at any time while you are in the hospital. You have the right to have your Advance Directives included in your medical record, and to have hospital staff and physicians follow your wishes. If you have an Advance Directive we encourage you to provide a copy to your nurse and discuss you wishes with your physician in addition to making a copy available for your record.

Beliefs, Values, and Preferences
You and your family have the right to have your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected, as long as they do not harm others or interfere with your treatment. If you would like to speak with a hospital chaplain or other member of the clergy, please tell your caregiver. If you have spiritual beliefs regarding specific medical treatments, please discuss these beliefs with your physician.

Non-Discrimination
No matter your race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, medical condition, or ability to pay for your care, you will receive the care you need and everything that is ordered by your physician. In addition, St. Luke’s facilities are accessible to patients with special needs.

Code of Ethical Business and Professional Behavior
St. Luke’s has policies to make sure that decisions about patient care are not influenced by monetary arrangements among insurance companies, hospital managers, doctors, employees, or any others who may be involved in patient care.

Concerns Regarding Your Care
St. Luke’s patients are involved in decisions about care, treatment, and services provided. Family members may be involved in the decision-making, with permission from the patient or surrogate decision-maker. Patients can freely voice complaints and recommend changes without being subject to coercion, discrimination, reprisal, or unreasonable interruption of care, treatment, and services.
If you have concerns or complaints about your care, we will try to address them quickly and fairly. We ask that you discuss your concerns with your caregiver or, if you prefer, with a hospital manager. If you are not satisfied with the way we answer your concerns, you may contact Patient Relations (Boise and Meridian (208) 381-2689 or 1-800-579-0061; Magic Valley (208) 737-2807; Wood River (208) 727-8500) or send a letter to the hospital where you received services and we will look into your concern. You may also file your concern with the Bureau of Facility Standards at (208) 334-6626, P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0036 or notify the Joint Commission at 1-800-994-6610 or

Office of Quality Monitoring
Joint Commission
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181

If you are not satisfied with the care provided by your caregiver (doctor, nurse, therapist, assistant), you have the right to ask to be cared for by another doctor from our medical staff or you may ask for a different nurse, therapist or assistant. We will do everything we can to get you a different caregiver, but there may be times when this is not possible.

Billing and Financial Information
As a not-for-profit organization, St. Luke’s maintains an “open door” policy. This means we will give you the hospital care you need, even if you cannot pay your bill.
Patient Financial Services staff will help you make arrangements to pay your bill. When appropriate, they will also help you get financial assistance through government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. If you do not understand your bill, we will be happy to explain it to you.

Personal Belongings
Please leave valuable items, including jewelry and money, at home. If you do bring these types of items to the hospital, please talk with Admitting staff or ask your nurse to have them placed in a secured area (Security Department or hospital safe).

Your nurses and other caregivers are here to assist in meeting your medical and support needs. That is why we ask that patients and their family members keep track of personal belongings such as clothes, dentures, hearing aids and eyeglasses. Please let your nurse know as soon as possible if any personal item is missing and every effort will be made to find it. We are sorry that St. Luke’s cannot replace lost or damaged personal property.

Patient Responsibilities
In addition to the preceding rights, you must accept certain responsibilities in order to receive maximum benefit from your stay at St. Luke’s.

You are responsible:
• For providing, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters related to your health.
• For reporting your perceived risks in your care and/or unexpected changes in your condition.
• For participating in the formation of your treatment plan and for following the plan for care, service, or treatment as prescribed.
• To express any concerns you have about your ability to follow and/or comply with the prescribed treatment plan.
• For asking questions when you do not understand what you have been told or what you are expected to do.
• For the consequences and outcomes, if you do not follow the care, service, or treatment plan.
• To communicate with health care providers about your pain management, help health care providers measure your pain, and report pain and the effects of pain management interventions to your caregiver.
• For being considerate and respectful of the rights of other patients and staff, and of the property of others and the hospital.
• For following the rules and regulations of the hospital concerning patient care and conduct. Please help us control noise, disturbances and follow the smoking policies.
• For promptly meeting any financial obligations agreed to with the hospital.