Bill of Rights

• Receive considerate and respectful care at all times and under all circumstances, with recognition of your personal dignity, values and beliefs, respect the rights of the patient.
• Expect that CVMC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability and sexual orientation.
• Have an environment that preserves dignity and contributes to a positive self image.
• Have reasonable access to care or protective services and a reasonable response to your request for services within the capacity of CVMC to provide them, including pastoral care or counseling or other spiritual services.
• Expect that properly executed advance directives will be honored, including the right to utilize a designated decision-maker when or if you are unable to understand or communicate your wishes. CVMC will address the wishes of the patient relating to end-of-life decision.
• Know the name and professional status of those providing services to you and know by name an attending physician responsible for coordinating or primarily responsible for your care.
• Know about your illness and participate in the decisions that affect your health and well being, obtain complete and current information about your diagnosis, the planned course of treatment, and the prognosis, or medical outlook for your future, in terms you can reasonably be expected to understand.
• Be informed of the outcomes of care, treatment, and services that have been provided, including unanticipated outcomes. CVMC respects the patient's right to and need for effective communication.
• An Informed Consent is obtained.
• Receive from your physician or other healthcare practitioner, except in emergencies, information necessary to give informed consent prior to the start of any procedure or treatment and know the name of the person responsible for the procedure or treatment. Such information should include the specific procedure or treatment to be performed; the medically significant risks and benefits associated with a recommended treatment or test; the likely duration of incapacitation; the medically significant alternatives for care or treatment when they exist; and the risks and benefits associated with no treatment at all.
• Written consent is obtained for recording or filming made for purposes other than ID, diagnosis, and treatment.
• Refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and be informed of the medical consequences of that refusal. You have the right to leave the hospital, even if your doctor advises against it, unless you have certain infectious diseases that could affect the health of others, or if you are incapable of maintaining your own or other people's safety as defined by law. CVMC shall be relieved of responsibility for any harm that comes to you as a result of refusal of treatment or leaving against medical advice.
• Receive appropriate assessment and aggressive management of pain.
• Expect reasonable privacy and confidentiality of your medical care program and records. People not directly involved in your care must have your permission to be present when care is given. Certain conditions, such as cases of some communicable diseases, industrial diseases or accidents, and suspected cases of child or elder abuse, must by law be reported to appropriate state agencies, even without your authorization. In some cases involving potential liability, the medical center may disclose information in medical records to its own attorneys and agents.
• Be advised if CVMC proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation affecting your care or treatment. Participation by patients in clinical training programs or in research studies shall be voluntary.
• Be informed by the attending physician of any continuing health care requirements following discharge.
• Receive an itemized, detailed and understandable explanation of charges upon request.
• Know what CVMC rules and regulations apply to your conduct as a patient.
• Have family members or other persons you choose participate in care decisions. Patients may enter into a Reciprocal Beneficiaries Relationship in Vermont , which provides certain benefits and protections, along with certain responsibilities, that are granted to spouses in a marriage or civil union. A patient's Reciprocal Beneficiary shall be recognized and included as a participant in the patient's health care decision-making process at their request.
• Have parents, guardians, significant others, reciprocal beneficiaries or immediate family members stay with their children or terminally ill family members 24 hours a day whenever possible.
• Have an interpreter if a language barrier or hearing impairment is a problem to your understanding of the care and treatment being provided.
• Talk about your illness and care to anyone you want.
• Access protective and advocacy services.
• Be free from mental, physical, sexual and verbal abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
• Know the maximum patient census and the full-time equivalent numbers of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and licensed nursing assistants who provide direct care for each shift on the unit where patient is receiving care.
• The patient has the right to be informed in writing of the availability of hospice services and the eligibility criteria for those services.
• Receive professional assessment of pain and professional pain management

• Keep appointments or call as soon as possible to cancel.
• Be considerate of other patients by respecting their privacy and limiting visitors.
• Observe safety regulations, including the no smoking policy.
• Supply full and accurate personal information and information about your illness and past health to appropriate personnel and report changes in your condition to your health care providers.
• Recognize the effect of your life-style on your personal health.
• Work with the health care team to make informed health care decisions, develop a mutually agreed upon plan of care, and implement the plan.
• Let us know if you do not understand or cannot follow the instructions or proposed plan for your care.
• Be aware of what your health care insurance does and does not cover and assure that the financial obligations of your health care are fulfilled as promptly as possible.