Patient Bill of Rights and Responsibilities
The University Health Network is committed to providing exemplary patient care and fostering excellence in health care delivery, research and teaching. Like the community it serves, our hospital staff is multi-racial and multi-ethnic and strives to appreciate patients' cultural differences. In order to achieve these goals, we make the following pledge to you - the patient!
Your Rights
- You have the right to be treated in a considerate and respectful manner which considers your privacy and your right to confidentiality.
- You have the right to receive relevant information and education concerning your condition, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis in a manner which is understandable to you.
- You have the right to make decisions about the plan of care prior to and at any time during the course of treatment.
- You have the right to refuse care to the extent permitted by law.
- You have the right to expect that members of your care team will commununicate with one another in order to ensure continuity of care.
- You have the right to know who is treating you at all times and who is the doctor in charge of your treatment.
- You have the right to express your concerns and receive a response to your questions.
Your Responsibilities
Your rights carry with them certain responsibilities. We ask you or your representative to respect the following obligations:
- Provide relevant information to the members of your health team to help them in the process of caring for you.
- Facilitate the provision of your care by identifying a spokesperson with whom we can communicate or provide a valid power of attorney, in the event that you become incapacitated.
- Follow the treatment plan created for you to the best of your ability.
- Accept responsibility for the decision you make about your treatment.
- Be courteous and respectful of other patients, visitors and members of the health care team.
- Recognize that the needs of other patients and families may sometimes be more urgent than our own.
- Recognize that providers need not provide any treatment to patients that the providers consider to be medically or ethically inappropriate.
- Understand the Hospital's role as a teaching and research hospital and cooperate with health care professionals in that regard.
- Respect Hospital property and comply with Hospital regulations and policies.
- Understand and be responsible for all expenses not covered by OHIP or private insurance during your hospitalization.
