You have the right to:
Have impartial and considerate access to the resources of the hospital necessary for your care without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, handicap, or source of payment.
Talk openly with and question your physician, in language you understand, about:
- Your diagnosis and prescribed treatment
- Why treatments and tests are done and who does them
- Your wish for a consultation or second opinion from another physician
- The need to transfer to another facility and the alternative to such a transfer
- Your wish to change physicians and/or hospitals
- Instructions for continuing health care requirements following your discharge
- Participation in the consideration of ethical issues that arises regarding your care
You Have the Right To:
Receive an explanation of all papers you are asked to sign.
- Change your mind about any procedure for which you have given your consent
- Refuse to sign a consent form you do not fully understand
- Refuse treatment and to be informed of the medical results of this action
- Refuse to participate in medical training programs and research projects
You should expect:
Your personal privacy to be respected to the fullest extent consistent with the care prescribed.
- Your personal values and belief systems to be respected
- Reasonable safety insofar as the hospital practice and environment are concerned
- Access to people from outside the hospital or to refuse access
- Records pertinent to your care, including the source of payment, to be kept private
- Access to your records to be granted only to you or to those persons to whom you grant written permission, or who are permitted by law
- To receive an itemized copy of your hospital bill upon request
- To receive information about your advance directive if you are 19 years or older
You have the responsibility to:
Provide accurate, complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalization, medications, and other matters related to your health.
- Produce, upon request, documentation of authority to consent for your admission and treatment.
- Ask for an explanation if you do not understand papers you are asked to sign or anything related to your care.
- Follow the care prescribed or recommended for you by the physicians, nurses, and other allied health personnel and remember you are responsible for your actions if you refuse treatment or do not follow instructions.
- Know and follow the rules of the hospital.
- Respect the rights and privacy of others.
- Assure the financial obligations associated with your care are fulfilled.
Concerns: If you have any questions about these rights and responsibilities, please call 706-782-0400.
Billing: If you have any questions about your bill, please call 706-782-4233 or 706.782.3100.
Complaints: Please share your concerns with Mountain Lakes Medical Center Administration, call 706-782-0400.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated or if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of your care, you have the right to submit a verbal or written complaint. Please share your concerns with Mountain Lakes Medical Center by contacting Administration at 706-782-0400. Complaints will be reviewed so that we might improve our services, and when possible, the complaint will be resolved. If you or a family member think that a complaint or grievance remains unresolved through the hospital process, you may contact the Office of Regulatory Services, Healthcare Section at Two Peachtree Street, N.W. Atlanta, GA 30303-3141.
Phone: 404-657-5726 or 404-657-9639, Fax: 404-657-5708, Website: //ors.dhr.georgia.gov
