Bill of Rights

Patient Bill of Rights
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital provides quality health care close to home through a unique mix of diagnostic, medical and surgical services.

It is important that everyone involved in your treatment — including you, your family members, your doctors and any other health care professionals who may care for you — acknowledge and understand your rights and responsibilities as a patient at Houston Methodist Sugar Land:

  • The right to a reasonable response to their requests and needs for treatment or service, within the entity’s capacity, mission and applicable laws and regulations
  • The right to know how Houston Methodist is required and permitted by law to use and disclose their health information
  • The right to know their health information rights, including the right to access and request amendment of their health information and to obtain an accounting of disclosures regarding their health information as permitted under applicable law
  • The right to and need for effective communication
  • The right to considerate and respectful care, including the consideration of developmental age, sensory impairment, psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural variables, and the comfort and dignity of dying patients by addressing and treating symptoms that respond to medically appropriate treatment as desired by the patient or surrogate decision maker
  • The right to know the name of the physician who has primary responsibility for coordinating the care and the names and professional relationships of other physicians and non-physicians who will see the patient
  • The right to receive information about the illness, course of treatment and prospects for recovery in terms that the patient can understand
  • The right, in collaboration with their physicians, to make decisions involving their health care, including the acceptance or refusal of treatment and the use of advance directives
  • The right to receive, at the time of hospital admission, in a language or method that the patient understands, information about Houston Methodist’s patient rights policy, and the mechanism for initiation, review, and when possible, resolution of patient complaints regarding quality of care
  • The right to voice a concern to the appropriate entity personnel or to the Texas Department of State Health Services
  • The right to voice a concern about any healthcare provider licensed by the State of Texas
  • For concerns regarding health information privacy, the right to voice the concern to appropriate entity personnel or to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
  • The right to participate in, or have their qualified personal representative participate in, the consideration of ethical issues arising in their care
  • The right to participate or not to participate in any human experimentation, research or education projects for which the patient is eligible
  • The right, within legal limits, to personal privacy and confidentiality of information. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly. The patient has the right to be told the reason for the presence of any individual during these events.
  • The right to consent or refuse to consent to recording or filming (photographic, video, electronic or audio material) or use of any personal identifiable information for purposes other than the identification, diagnosis, or treatment of the patient
  • The right, within legal limits, to access, or have their qualified personal representative access information contained in their medical records
  • The right of their guardian, next of kin or qualified personal representative to exercise, to the extent permitted by law, the rights delineated on their behalf if they are incapable of understanding treatment, unable to communicate their wishes, are judged incompetent, or are minors
  • The right to be informed, along with their family, when appropriate, of the outcomes of care including unanticipated outcomes
  • The right to have their pain managed effectively
  • The right to receive a high standard of patient safety
  • The right to be free from restraint or seclusion of any form, imposed as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff
  • The right to an environment that preserves dignity and contributes to a positive self-image
  • The right to be free from mental, physical, sexual and verbal abuse, neglect and exploitation
  • The right to access protective and advocacy services
  • The right to be informed of continuing health care needs following discharge from the hospital
  • The right to exercise the above rights without regard to sex, economic status, educational background, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability or the source of payment for care

 

Patients at Houston Methodist Sugar Land also have certain responsibilities:

  • The responsibility to identify themselves, for providing reasonably accurate and complete information about their medical history and unexpected changes in their current condition, and for asking questions when they do not understand medical information they have received
  • The responsibility for complying with the directions and instructions of their health care providers unless they have exercised their right to refuse treatment
  • The responsibility to recognize the effect of their lifestyle on health
  • The responsibility for respecting the rights of others, including, but not limited to, other patients and health care providers
  • The responsibility to know the extent and limitations of their health care benefits
  • The responsibility for assuring that the financial obligations associated with their care are met in a timely fashion