Patient rights and responsibilities

(RIGHTS OF CHILDREN, ELDERLY & PATIENTS NOT ABLE TO PRACTICE THEIR RIGHTS, WILL BE GRANTED TO THEIR FAMILIES / GUARDIANS OR TO THEIR LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE IF THE PATIENT IS INCOMPETENT TO MAKE DECISION FOR SELF OR HIS ELIGIBILITY IS RESTRICTED)

1. You have the right to understand & use all your rights. You will receive a written copy of these rights from the Reception as an outpatient & in Wards as an admitted patient. & if for any reason, you do not understand them, please contact any staff & ask for help, including interpretation if you want to be explained in another language.
2. You have the right to receive impartial care with dignity, respect, self-worth without discrimination, respecting your values & religious beliefs. This care shall be subject to availability, without interfering with other patient’s safety & the work environment & without contradiction with hospital rules & regulatory mandates.
3. You have the right to receive comprehensive medical care with the aim of reaching proper diagnosis & treatment of illness & injury.
4. You have the right to receive immediate emergency care, whenever needed, with no delay
5. You have the right to know the identity of the physician or other healthcare practitioners responsible for your care & to know the scope of work for each of them.
6. You have the right to receive comprehensive information in a manner you can understand (from the healthcare team) about the diagnosis, proposed treatment, therapeutic procedures, surgical interventions, any change in your health status & the cause of these changes, alternative treatments, potential benefits & drawbacks to the proposed treatment, expected outcomes of care & treatment, the likelihood of successful treatment, possible problems related to recovery & possible results of non-treatment & expected cost of care. In addition to clarifying & determining the quantities of the drug, its side effects, the way to use it clearly, & knowing the reason for undergoing various tests & treatments, & every procedure that was taken when providing the health service to the patient shall be documented in patient’s medical records.
7. You have the right to have an interpreter (if available) if the language presents a problem to understand the details of your care & the treatment provided to you.
8. You have the right to give or not written General Consent for treatment.
9. You have the right to give or not to give your written informed consent before surgery or any invasive procedures, anesthesia, the use of blood & its products & any other high-risk procedure & treatment.
10. You have the right to receive all information that you need before giving your consent for any proposed procedure or treatment; & to complete the necessary laboratory tests & investigation before any surgery. The information should include the benefits, available alternatives & the possible risks (if any) of the procedure or the treatment.
11. You have the right to participate in care decisions. We encourage Patients, Parents or Legal Guardians to participate in planning & implementing treatment together with the nurses & physicians, to the extent they wish.
12. You have the right to maintain your need for privacy for all clinical interviews/ examinations, procedures (including while being transported), & treatments & the confidentiality of all of your information & data included in the health file, social status, any correspondence & communications, in accordance with the regulatory requirements.
13. You have the right to choose the treating doctor (depending on availability) in addition to the right to reject the treating doctor upon furnishing a genuine reason.
14. You have the right to express your opinion clearly in case you refuse the treatment (if you would like to, except the unconscious patient) & to be informed of the medical consequences due to your refusal. Accordingly, you will sign a form prepared to that effect & leave the hospital, considering the special cases stipulated in the hospital & regulatory mandates.
15. You have the right to refuse examination or observation by any person not directly responsible for your care. In such an event, such persons should have your permission to be present during case discussion, consultation, examination & treatment.
16. You have the right to be protected from physical, verbal & psychological assault, protect your health, & respect basic human rights.
17. You have the right to receive information from the organization that supports your choice to donate organs & other tissues. 
18. You have the right to access your medical information as per our hospital policy & regulations & any cost doesn’t prevent accessing this information to maintain continuity of care.
19. You have the right to obtain a medical report & a copy of medical test results from the Medical Records Section & patient medical information shall be accessible if requested.
20. According to Hospital Policies & Procedures & depending on availability & your health status, you have the right to have a family member or a guardian as an escort (if need be). Due to medical reasons, certain units will not allow this. e.g. OT, ICU, NICU & Dialysis etc.
21. You have the right to receive treatment services, & if this is not possible, you have the right to receive a complete explanation of the need to be transferred to another treatment centre & all reasonable alternatives to such a transfer. Before performing the transfer, the receiving institution must accept the transfer.
22. You have the right to complain through the Patient Relations Officer without any fear of reprisals about the care & services you are receiving & to have the hospital respond to you. Patients whether inpatients or outpatients can contact the Patient Relations Officer to give complaints & suggestions about services & have them addressed to the concerned department.
23. You have the right to appropriate assessment & pain management & receive education for yourself & your family about pain & pain management.
24. University Hospital Sharjah is committed to providing the dying patient with respectful & compassionate care & respects his/her unique needs.
25. You have the right to receive an itemized & detailed bill of all services provided upon your request as an inpatient, at the time of discharge & explanation of all charges regardless of whether it is paid by you or by another source 
26. You have the right to receive written Discharge Instructions/Plans. This plan will highlight treatment, follow up & medical instructions on how to take care of yourself after you leave the hospital.
27. You have the right to seek a second opinion about your care without fear of compromise within or outside the organization. (If need be, you may be required to pay for the services).
28. You have the right to identify & involve which family member/friends, others, etc & who not to involve in your care decisions about your diagnosis & treatment.
29. You have the right to obtain the best possible services for your health from the doctors & all health professionals, by using all available means & capabilities.
30. You have the right to be treated, to be heard & advised by the doctor with dedication & without discrimination.
31. You have the right to obtain health services that require continuity & follow-up on the implementation of the service as long as the health condition so requires.
32. The hospital is keen to achieve the desired benefit from the health service provided & is committed to that by considering the risks that arise from prevention or treatment activities, disclosures or diagnostics.
33. The hospital respects the patient's desire & not to violate his freedom to continue receiving health service or not unless his condition poses a threat to him or others or to public health.
34. You have the right to know the nature of your illness & the degree of its severity, & to be notified of that unless your psychological state does not allow you to be informed, & in this case, your legal representative must be informed.
35. You have the right to obtain educational advice appropriate to your age, level of understanding, awareness & care.
36. You have the right to know the nature of your illness, its degree of severity, information on diseases including infectious diseases, & to be informed of that unless your interest requires otherwise, or if your psychological state does not allow you to be informed, & in this case, you must be informed to your legal representative, & knowledge & awareness must be provided. Health knowledge & awareness must be provided to patients & their families to make decisions regarding treatment plans & to participate in the health care provided to them.
37. You have the  right to obtain medical information provided by the doctor in a simple & understandable language, including information related to your illness, the course of treatment & the development of your health condition, considering the difficulty of understanding & dialogue when dealing with some segments of patients (children, psychiatric patients, the elderly, etc.) The notification is done: during the clinic or during a special session, during the stay in the health facility, Upon leaving the health facility, to urge him to continue treatment, to take preventive measures, & to avoid complications that could disturb his health.
38. The patient has the right to be informed of the following: various checks suggested treatments & necessary preventive services, the benefits of the proposed course of treatment & its estimated cost in advance, the urgency of implementing the proposed health services, the expected results of the proposed health service, possible alternatives to the proposed health service, the expected results in the event of refusal to receive health service & reasons for his transfer from one health facility to another. The doctor may be exempt from providing information to the patient in emergency situations, or in the form of the patient’s refusal to receive this information, or when his interest so requires.
39. The hospital is keen to obtain the patient’s consent, with insight & conviction, to receive health service in advance, considering the exceptions specified by the law.
40. You have the right to consent for receiving health service or through your legal representative if the patient is incompetent to make a self-decision or his eligibility is restricted.
41. Health information & data are the property of the patient & are protected within the scope of maintaining a medical secret that cannot be disclosed to others except with the permission of the patient or in cases required by law.
42. The doctor must provide the patient with information & data related to his health & not adhere to the medical secret except in accordance with the conditions & in the cases stipulated in the regulatory mandates in this regard.