Your Rights as a Patient

Knowing your rights as a patient is an important part of your healthcare journey. Some rights may be determined by your government, while others can differ from region-to-region or even from different health facilities. It can be a confusing and sometimes frustrating process to understand your own specific rights. 

Let’s go over what these specific rights are, as well as the resources you can use to ensure your rights are protected. 

Nationally Guaranteed Rights

In America, with the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2011, the Obama administration set up a bill of rights that provides patients with protections relating to medical insurance and medical financing.

Notable Protections Include:

• Adding or keeping your children on your health insurance policy until they turn 26 years old—even if they are married, not living with their parents, attending school, not financially dependent on their parents, or eligible to enroll in their employer’s plan.

• Health insurers no longer charging more or denying coverage to you or your child because of a pre-existing health condition like asthma, diabetes, or cancer, and they cannot limit benefits for that condition either.

• Once insurance is acquired, insurers can’t refuse to cover treatment for your pre-existing condition.

This is a significant advance in patients rights, but unfortunately, healthcare providers may still act without all your rights in consideration. Here are some resources to avail of if you feel your rights are being breached.

Resources if Your Rights Are Violated

Patient Advocates

If you have questions regarding your rights and or believe that your rights may have been violated, you may contact the hospital’s ombudsman, individuals recruited by a facility who act as a liaison between patients and the facility. Ombudsman oversee patient concerns and work to ensure that a patient’s needs are properly addressed and taken care of. Many are also able to deal with issues related to billing and payment.

There has also been a recent shift towards private patient advocates, individuals who are separate from the medical facility who help patients navigate their health.Patient advocates are not hired by a healthcare facility and thus do not have a strong incentive to cater to the facility.

Additionally, many patient advocates can provide a broader range of knowledge to their clients as they are not limited by the scope of services and amenities offered at a particular facility. An advocate could also help a client schedule appointments across different healthcare centers to see what location would best fit the client’s situation.

Note that healthcare facilities themselves may also recruit patient advocates. Although, their scope is generally limited to that of the facility, and they also must keep the facility’s interests in mind.

Nonprofit Organizations

At an organizational scale, there are nonprofits, both local and national, that exist to help inform patients on healthcare literacy and communication.

These organizations may have helpful resources catered to your specific need or area. And like private patient advocates, many nonprofit organizations do not have incentive to cater to a specific healthcare facility and thus can provide a fair and unbiased assessment of your situation.

However, remember to practice caution when gauging the reliability of an organization. Ask yourself questions like:

• Does the organization seem professional?

• Do they have a good reputation?

• Are they simply trying to advertise and sell a product or service?

Consider these types of questions when engaging with a nonprofit to ensure that you are receiving the appropriate assistance. The Human Health Project is a non-profit organisation with a mission of creating a community hub where people can communicate with each other about their own health journeys. They have resources like the Learning Academy, and patient advocacy online workshops for Northern Ireland and Los Angeles.