Patient Rights & Responsibilities

As a patient or parent or legal guardian of a minor patient, you have the right to:

1. Be informed of your rights before patient care is furnished or discontinued, whenever possible.
2. Be treated kindly and respectfully by all personnel.
3. Receive complete and current information concerning your diagnosis, treatment and prognosis in terms you can understand. When it is not medically advisable to give such information, it should be made available to an appropriate person on your behalf.
4. Receive an explanation of any proposed procedure or treatment. The explanation should include a description of the nature and purpose of the treatment or procedure, any known risks or serious side effects and all treatment alternatives.
5. Know the name, identity and professional status of the person providing services to you and know who is primarily responsible for your care.
6. Expect a family member or representative and your treating physician will be notified promptly of your arrival at the center.
7. Participate in developing and implementing your plan of care.
8. Make informed decision about your care.
9. Have an advance directive, such as a living will or a healthcare power of attorney, and to have staff and practitioners who provide care in this center comply with these directives to the extent that it is appropriate. If you have a written advance directive, you should provide a copy to the center, your family and your doctor.
10. Accept medical care or refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and to be informed of the medical consequences of such refusal.
11. Have personal privacy concerning your own medical care program. Care discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly. Those persons not directly involved in the care must have your permission to be present.
12. Expect that all communications and clinical records pertaining to your care will be treated confidentially.
13. Access information contained in your medical records within a reasonable time frame.
14. Receive evaluation, service and/or referral as indicated by the urgency of your situation. When medically permissible, you may be transferred to another facility only after having received complete information and explanation concerning the need for – and alternatives to – such a transfer. The facility to which you will be transferred must first accept the transfer.
15. Exercise cultural and spiritual beliefs that do not interfere with the well being of others or the planned course of medical therapy for the patient.
16. Know if your care involves any experimental methods of treatment. If so, you have the right to consent or refuse to participate.
17. Be informed by the practitioner of any continuing healthcare requirements following discharge from the center.
18. Examine your bill and receive an explanation of the charges regardless of the source of payment for your care.
19. Be informed of OOSC’s rules and regulations applicable to your conduct as a patient.
20. Be free from restraints or seclusion of any form that are not medically necessary or that are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.
21. Receive information about your rights as a Medicare beneficiary upon admission.
22. Receive care in a safe setting
23. Be free from all forms of abuse or harassment
24. Use our internal grievance process for submitting a written or verbal complaint to your healthcare practitioner or our Administration and receive a written response within ten (10) business days from receipt of the letter by Administration. Contact information for administration is; OOSC –Administration, 1600 60th Street, West Des Moines, IA 50266 by mail and 515-224-5232 by phone.
    Refer complaints or grievances regarding quality of care, premature or beneficiary complaints to the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals, Healthcare Facilities Division, Lucas State Office Building, 321 East 12th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319, by phone 1-877-686-0027 or you may file a complaint online at https://dia.iowa.gov/contact-form 
    Medicare patients may also refer their concerns to Telligen (formally IFMC) which is the Medicare quality improvement organization for Iowa. Telligen may be reached at 515-223-2900, the following address: 1776 West Lakes Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266 or on the web at
    https://www.medicare.gov/my/medicare-complaint. Complaints may also be filed with the US Department of Health and Human Services at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/smartscreen/main.jsf
25. You may also log a complaint with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC) by calling 1-847-853-6060 or sending an email to: info@aaahc.org 
26. Change providers if other qualified providers are available to administer your anesthesia or perform your procedure. This may require the rescheduling of your procedure if decided the day of surgery.
27. In a discussion of patients’ rights, it’s also important to review Patient' Responsibilities:
    • Maintaining Health Habits; recognize the effect of lifestyle on your personal health. Your health depends not only on our health care but also in the long term, on the decisions you make in your daily life.
    • Being Respectful to Providers; follow the treatment plan recommended by the practitioner primarily responsible for your care. This may include following the instructions of nurses and other health care professionals as they implement the practitioner’s orders and enforce the applicable rules and regulations affecting patient care and conduct.
    • Being Honest with Providers; report whether you clearly comprehend a contemplated course or action and what is expected. Provide accurate and complete information about your present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications; including over-the-counter products, dietary supplements, any allergies or sensitivities and other matters relating to your health, including advance directives
    • Complying with Treatment Plans; provide a responsible adult for transport after discharge from the center and to care for you at home, if required by your practitioner. Take control of your actions if you refuse treatment or do not follow the practitioners’ instructions.
    • Meeting Financial Obligations; assure that the financial obligations of your care are fulfilled as promptly as possible.
    • Avoiding Putting Others at Risk; be considerate of the right of other patients and facility personnel and to limit noise, smoking and the number of visitors during your stay.