Patient Rights

• Receive impartial medical treatment and care regardless of race; creed; religion; sex; national origin; disability; payment sources or communicable disease such as, but not limited to, HIV, MRSA and Hepatitis B.
• Care that meets the current standards of practice.

• Receive a copy of the Patient Rights in writing.
• Have a family member or representative and your physician to be notified promptly of your admission to the Hospital, unless you request this not be done.
• Access, inspect and receive copies of your health information in a reasonable time frame.
• Receive an accounting of certain disclosures of your medical record.
• Request restricted access of your health information. The Hospital will attempt to grant all reasonable requests.
• Communicate with people outside the Hospital by means of visitors and verbal and written communication. Any restrictions will be fully explained.
• Know the identity and professional status of individuals providing your care.
• Sufficient information to enable you to give informed consent prior to any procedure or treatment.
• Complete and current information concerning your diagnosis (to the degree known), treatment and any known prognosis in terms you can reasonably be expected to understand. When it is not medically advisable to give this information to you, it should be made available to your legally authorized representative.
• Be informed by the practitioner responsible for your care of any continuing health care requirements following discharge.

• Expect that any discussion or consultation involving your case will be conducted discreetly and that individuals not directly involved in your care will not be present without your permission.
• Receive care and treatment in surroundings designed to assure reasonable privacy. This includes having a person of your own sex present during certain parts of a physical examination, treatment or procedure.
• Expect that your health information will be used only by Hospital staff, as necessary to carry out their duties.
• Receive a copy of the Hospital’s Notice of Privacy Practices, which outlines the Hospital’s responsibilities and your rights relating to your health information.
• Be informed of any audio/visual monitoring that is done as a routine part of providing your care, and that consent will be obtained prior to any other video recording or monitoring that may be desired.

• Expect care that is considerate and respectful of your personal values and beliefs.
• Receive care in a safe setting free from abuse or harassment.
• Be free from restraints and seclusion of any form that are not medically necessary.
• Participate in all decisions about your treatment. You are the center of the healthcare team.
• Speak up if you have questions or concerns, or don’t understand something about your care.

• Request a consultation with the Ethics Committee when confronted with making difficult healthcare decisions by contacting 816-691-2050. Your family, friend or healthcare provider, who is directly involved in your care, also may request a consultation with the Ethics Committee.
• Access pastoral care and spiritual services.
• Receive sensitivity regarding issues related to care at the end-of-life.
• Be informed if your care is to be delivered under the auspice of any clinical training or research program within the institution. You shall receive a description of expected benefits and potential discomforts and risks. You have the right to refuse to participate in any such activity without compromise to access of services.

• An itemized and detailed explanation of your bill, the right to inquire about financial assistance in paying your bill, and the right to inquire about assistance in filing any insurance claims.
• Timely notice prior to termination of your eligibility for reimbursement by any third-party payer for the cost of your care.

• Reasonable protection of your personal items.
• Receive information about the Hospital’s mechanism for the initiation, review and resolution of patient concerns.
• Request that concerns not resolved to your satisfaction be referred to the North Kansas City Hospital's Grievance Committee by notifying the Patient Representative at (816) 691-5333.
• You have the right to lodge a grievance with any state agency directly, regardless of whether you have first used the grievance process.

State Advocacy Agencies
Department of Health and Senior Services
Bureau of Health Facilities Services Regulation
P.O. Box 570 Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-6303 or (800) 392-0210

Missouri Medicare/Primaris
200 North Keene Street
Columbia, MO 65201
(573) 817-8300 or (800) 735-6776

Missouri Medicaid Recipient Services Unit
P.O. Box 6500
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(800) 392-2161

Medicare - Medicare beneficiaries have the right to request a referral to Quality Improvement Organizations for concerns regarding quality of care, medicare coverage decisions or premature discharge. For more information, contact Primaris at the address or phone number above.

Joint Commission - If you have concerns about patient care and safety at North Kansas City Hospital, that the hospital has not addressed, you are encouraged to contact the hospital management. If concerns cannot be resolved through the hospital, you are encouraged to contact the Joint Commission.

The Joint Commission
Office of Quality Monitoring
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
(800) 994-6610 

• Be involved in the development and implementation of your plan of care, including issues of pain management and your discharge plan. 
• Request or refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law.
• Not be subjected to any procedure without your voluntary, competent, informed consent, or the consent of your legally authorized representative. You will be informed when medically significant alternatives for care or treatment exist.
• Request a consult with a specialist at your expense.
• Describe your pain with the expectation that the description will be accepted as a true indicator of your pain and that interventions will be initiated to bring the pain to your comfort function goal.
• Create an Advanced Directive, such as a Living Will or Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare. These documents express your choices about future care or name someone to decide if you cannot speak for yourself. If you have a written Advanced Directive, a copy should be provided to the Hospital. Staff and practitioners who provide care will comply with Advanced Directives.

• Receive a complete explanation of the need for transfer to another health care facility and the risks and benefits from such a transfer.
• Be informed of services options and agencies that are available for post-discharge care as appropriate for your care.
• Request a transfer to another room if another patient or visitors are unreasonably disturbing you by their actions.

• Have his/her family/guardian involved in his/her assessment, treatment and continuing care.
• Have his/her family/guardian receive aid in coping with illnesses that are particularly traumatic because of their duration, severity or effect on the patient’s physical or psychological development.
• Be cared for in a physical environment designed to encourage its use and provide comfort, safety and security with furniture and equipment appropriate to age, size and developmental needs.
• Have provision made in the social environment for activities appropriate to his/her age, development, and peer and group interaction.
• Have provision made for appropriate educational services when treatment necessitates significant absence from school.
• Have needed services provided either directly or through referral, consultation or contractual arrangements and/or agreements.
• Have continuity of care when transferred from one setting to another through assessment of the need for continuing treatment, continuing education and support for normal development.
• Availability of a mechanism by which his/her family/guardian may resolve conflicts concerning his/her care.

• Provide, to the best of his/her knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications and other matters relating to his/her health.
• Report unexpected changes in his/her condition.
• Make known whether he/she clearly comprehends a contemplated course of action and what is expected of him/her.
• Follow the treatment plan recommended by the practitioner primarily responsible for his/her care. This may include following instructions of nurses and allied health personnel as they carry out the coordinated plan for care and implement the responsible practitioner’s orders, and as they enforce the applicable Hospital rules and regulations.
• Keep appointments and, when he/she is unable to do so for any reason, for notifying the responsible practitioner or the Hospital.
• Accept responsibility for his/her actions if he/she refuses treatment or does not follow the practitioner’s instructions.
• To assure that the financial obligations of his/her health care are fulfilled as promptly as possible.
• Follow Hospital rules and regulations.
• Comply with the Hospital's policy on tobacco usage by not using tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipes) while on the Hospital's campus.
• Be considerate of the rights of other patients and Hospital personnel, and for assisting in the control of noise and the number of visitors. The patient is responsible for being respectful of the property of other persons and of the Hospital.
• Speak up if you have questions or concerns, or don’t understand something about your care.
• Pay attention to the care you are receiving, and ask questions if something doesn’t seem right.
• Thoroughly read all medical forms and make sure you understand them before you sign.
• Know what medications you take and why you take them. Ask questions if you aren’t sure.
• Tell your doctors and nurses about allergies or negative reactions you have had to medications in the past before you receive a new medication.
• Ask a trusted family member or friend to be your advocate, and make sure this person understands your preferences in healthcare treatment decisions.
• Ask about follow-up care and make sure you understand all the instructions before you leave the Hospital

We want to know if a patient or patient's representative is displeased with our service so that we may take appropriate steps to address his/her concerns in a timely manner.

All patients are assured that the registering of a concern will not compromise their present or future access to care.

If a patient or patient's representative has a concern regarding the care or service provided at North Kansas City Hospital, he/she should notify the manager or designated leader of the unit about the concern.

It is our goal to address each concern at the point of service as quickly as possible. Should the complaint involve the services of our Patient Representative, the Patient Representative shall acknowledge, in writing, our receipt of the concern. Should the complaint be promptly resolved, the correspondence to the patient or patient's representative shall contain the following:

• Date the grievance was received
• Description of the grievance
• Name of the hospital contact person
• Steps taken on behalf of the patient to investigate and resolve the grievance

If, after a reasonable amount of time, the concern is not resolved to the satisfaction of the patient, he/she may contact the Patient Representative at (816) 691-5333 for further assistance.

If a patient has a question regarding the charges for Hospital services, he/she may contact the Patient Accounts Department at (816) 691-2040. If, after a reasonable amount of time, the concern is not resolved to the satisfaction of the patient, the patient may contact the Vice President-Finance at (816) 691-2006 or the Patient Representative at (816) 691-5333 for further assistance.