Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Patient Rights

Swedish wants you to be aware of your rights as a patient. We believe your patient rights are important, and therefore we state them here for you and your family or loved ones to review. We will do everything possible to make sure that your rights are respected.

As a patient at Swedish, you have the right:

• To be treated with courtesy, dignity, and respect by all hospital staff.

• To have your personal, cultural and spiritual values and beliefs supported when making a decision about treatment.

• To have someone of your choice and your physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital.

• To talk about any complaints you have about your care without fear of getting poor treatment. To have your concerns reviewed in a timely manner with assistance or advocacy as required and, when possible, resolved in a timely manner. You have a right to be informed in writing of the response to your concerns.

• To know the physician who is mainly in charge of your care, as well as any physicians who might be consulting on your case.

• To know the name and title of your caregivers.

• To know if your care involves the training of health-care providers. You have the right to agree or refuse to participate.

• To receive complete and current information about your diagnosis, treatment and prognosis in terms you can understand. All explanations should include:

  1. A description of the procedure or treatment and why it would be done.

  2. The possible benefits.

  3. The known serious side effects, risks or drawbacks.

  4. Problems during recovery.

  5. The chances of success.

  6. Other procedures or treatments that could be done.

• To an interpreter or communication aid if you do not speak English, English is your second language, or you are deaf, hard of hearing, vision issues, cognitive impairment, or have speech difficulties. Communication will be tailored to your age and your needs.

• To help your physicians and other health-care givers in the planning of your care.

• To be informed of the results of treatment, positive and negative, expected or unexpected.

• To be able to receive and read your medical records in a reasonable period of time and to a description of everything in your records.

• To refuse any procedure, drug or treatment and to be informed of the possible results of your decision.

• To be free from restraint or seclusion imposed as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation. Restraint or seclusion will only be imposed to ensure the immediate physical safety of the patient, staff, or other people in the hospital, and will be discontinued as soon as your behavior no longer poses a safety threat.

• To make advance treatment directives, such as Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and Living Wills, or Physician’s Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST), and to have caregivers follow your wishes. Additional information is available in this packet and in packet called “Your Life, Your Decisions – Advanced Directives” and through the Patient Education department.

• To a safe and secure environment that is supported by infection-control, safety and security services.

• To personal privacy. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment will be conducted to protect each patient’s privacy.

• To have all communications and records related to your care kept confidential.

• Patients and visitors have a right not to be discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or source of payment and other factors. Please see our Nondiscrimination Statement in this Welcome Packet for additional information.

• To supportive care, including appropriate assessment and management of pain, treatment of uncomfortable symptoms and support of your emotional and spiritual needs, regardless of your medical status or treatment decisions.

• To be free from all forms of abuse, harassment, exploitation, retaliation, humiliation, and neglect.

• Anyone, including patients, staff, families, and visitors, can request help with ethical issues surrounding your care from the Swedish Medical Center Ethics Committee.

• To know if your care involves research or experimental methods of treatment, and to be protected during research and clinical trials. You have the right to agree or refuse to participate. Refusing to participate will not prevent access to any care at Swedish.

• To be informed during your hospital stay of patient care options when hospital care is no longer needed. You have the right to receive information and participate in planning for when you leave the hospital.

• To examine your bill and receive an explanation of the charges regardless of how you pay for your care.

• To know about hospital policies, procedures, rules, or regulations applicable to your care.

• To have you or your representative make informed decisions regarding your care.

• To include family members or significant others in your care decisions.

• To have access to, request to make amendments to, and obtain information on disclosures of my health information, in accordance with applicable law.

• To be informed about unanticipated outcomes of care, treatment and services.

• To assign someone, legally, to exercise the rights listed above on your behalf, if you are unable to exercise them.

Patient Responsibilities

At Swedish we want you to play an active role in your health care.

As a patient, you have a responsibility:

• To provide complete and accurate information about your medical history and communication needs to those involved in your care.
• To take part in decisions about your care and treatment.
• To ask questions about unfamiliar practices and procedures.
• To inform your physician or nurse of any changes in your health.
• To follow your treatment plan of care.
• To be considerate of other patients and ensure that your visitors are equally thoughtful.
• To respect hospital policies and staff.
• To arrange payment methods prior to your hospitalization.
• To be respectful of your caregivers and obey hospital regulations; this will help us provide you with a safe environment where we can give you the best care possible. In rare instances where patients jeopardize our safe environment and can't respect our employees, the physician is notified and discharge may occur.

Comments or Concerns

There is a complaint procedure in which patients may participate without fear of jeopardizing their care. If you have concerns or comments about your clinical care at Swedish, please feel free to speak with any manager or staff member on the unit or in your clinic. Or contact one of the following: 

Swedish Medical Group Clinics
Patient Relations
206-215-2979

Swedish/Edmonds Campus
Patient Advocate
21601 76th Ave. W.
Edmonds, WA 98026
425-640-4365

Swedish (Hospital: First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Issaquah, Redmond and Mill Creek) 
Clinical Patient Relations
747 Broadway
Seattle, WA 98122-4307
206-386-2111 or, ext. 62111 (from an in-house phone)

In addition, you also have the right to contact the Washington State Department of Health or the Joint Commission Office of Quality Monitoring.

Washington State Department of Health
Facilities and Service Licensing
Attention: Investigations
P.O. Box 47852
Olympia, WA 98504-7852
1-800-633-6828

Office of Quality Monitoring
The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
1-800-994-6610
complaint@jointcommission.org

If you are a Medicare beneficiary and have a complaint regarding quality of care, your Medicare coverage, or premature discharge, you may contact Qualis Health at the following address:

Qualis Health
10700 Meridian Ave. North
Seattle, WA 98133
1-800-445-6941