Patient Rights and Responsibilities at Via Christi Health in Wichita

We want to give you excellent care while you are a patient at Via Christi. The following information describes your rights as a patient as well as what we expect of you.

If you are under 18 or an adult who is unable to make your own decisions, your parent, a person you select or a person appointed by a judge will speak for you and help make the decisions. Some of these rights may be limited for reasons related to your care. A statement explaining the reason for any restrifction to these rights will be written in your medical record.

Special services

Via Christi Rehabilitation Hospital: Medicare requires the Rehabilitation Hospital to collect information about you to help Medicare evaluate and pay our hospital. Like other health information, the information will not be shared with others except for purposes allowed by the Privacy Act. You may refuse to answer questions. You may see, review, and request changes to the information that is collected.

Via Christi Behavioral Health Center: Voluntary behavioral health care patients may request discharge from the facility by giving a written request for discharge to treatment personnel. Your physician will discharge you, after receiving your written request, within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three days (excluding weekends and holidays), unless a judge requires you to stay longer.

Questions and concerns

If you have concerns about the care you or your family member received, we encourage you to speak with your physician, your nurse or the unit nursing supervisor or director. After hours, contact the House Supervisor by dialing the operator.

You have the right to appeal concerns to the Department of Health Services Adult Care Complaint Hotline at 800-842-0078, Kansas Medicaid Consumer Assistance at 800-766- 9012, Kansas Foundation for Medical Care (Medicare) at 800-432-0407, The Joint Commission Office of Quality Monitoring at 800-994-6610 or the Department of Laboratory Services at 877-267-2323 ext, 63531.

Via Christi Hospitals

• 929 N. St. Francis
• 3600 E. Harry
• 14800 W. St. Teresa

Via Christi Rehabilitation Hospital

• 1151 N. Rock Road

You have the right to:

• Be treated in a dignified and respectful manner and receive care by competent personnel.
• Receive care that respects your values and beliefs.
• Make health care decisions and have the information necessary to make treatment decisions reflecting your wishes and to request a change of your physician due to religious or other reasons.
• Have your doctor and any other person you wish called to let them know you are being admitted to the hospital.
• Be told the names of the doctors, nurses, and your caregivers and how they will be involved in your care. If a change is made, you have the right to know why.
• Be transferred to another facility at your request, and also to know why you are being transferred to a different unit or different facility if the hospital chooses to transfer your care.
• Receive care in a safe setting and be free from abuse and harassment.
• Contact protective services.
• Be free from any form of restraint or seclusion that is not needed because of your medical condition.
• Obtain consultation with another physician or practitioner at your request and own expense.
• Hospital services without discrimination based upon your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or source of payment.
• Have your pain treated.
• As much privacy as possible, including making confidential calls and receiving unopened mail.
• Wear your own clothes, keep your own personal possessions and certain toilet articles, and keep and spend your own money.
• Be given information in a way you can understand.
• Be told about your illness. You make the decision, along with your doctor, about what treatments you want. You will be told by your doctor how a treatment could help you, the side effects of a treatment and other options that might be available to you. If something goes wrong during your treatment, you have the right to be told.
• Read your medical record, or let your representative, read your medical record in a reasonable amount of time, and as within the limits of the law. If you think something needs to be changed, you can ask us to look at it.
• Help decide how you want to be cared for, especially if you become very sick. If you are too sick to decide what you want or to speak for yourself, any written instructions you have prepared may be reviewed for direction on how to plan your care. An individual you have legally appointed to speak for you may be contacted to help with your plan of care, or your family will be asked to help make decisions.
• Advance directives if you want them. Advance directives are documents that express your wishes or designate someone to speak for you if you are unable to speak for yourself.
• Consult with someone from the Ethics Committee if you have a question or disagreement between you, your family, your personal representative or your caregivers about your care.
• Reach a hospital chaplain through a nurse of call your own spiritual advisor.
• Have your questions about organ or tissue donation answered and your wishes carried out, if possible.
• Communicate with people outside the hospital, and ask for help doing this when you need it.
• Choose visitors and a support person of your choice, and to ask visitors to leave.
• Be notified of reasons for visitor restrictions.
• Say no to having other people in the room if you are receiving a treatment and they are not part of your care.
• Refuse treatment, to the extent permitted by state law and to be informed of the medical consequences of refusing treatment.
• Refuse to take part in a research project. When considering experimental treatment, you will be given information about how it will or will not help you, what will be done, and choices of other treatments.
• Refuse consent to the creation of recordings, films, or other images for the purpose other than your care of your identification.
• Refuse to perform work duties other than taking care of your own personal things.
• Receive an itemized bill.

• Be told about the facility's business arrangement with anyone involved with providing or billing you for your care.

You are responsible for:

• Giving us accurate and complete information about matters relating to your health.
• Asking questions when you don't understand something.
• Following your treatment plan and telling your doctor or nurse if you think you will have problems carrying them out.
• Being responsible for what happens if you refuse treatment or do not follow instructions.
• Asking for pain relief when pain first begins and telling your doctor or nurse if your pain is not relieved.
• Giving us a copy of any advance directive you may have.
• Giving us information for insurance claims.
• Being responsible for your bill and working with us to make payment arrangements.
• Following hospital rules, including the "No Smoking," "No Illegal Drugs" and "No Weapons" policies.
• Respecting the rights of other patients, staff and doctors.
• Promoting the safety of other patients, visitors and staff.
• Making your concerns and complaints known.
• Your own possessions, if you choose to bring them to the hospital.