Patient Rights And Responsibilities | Patient Self Determination Act
Notice of Privacy Practices | Translation/Interpretation Services
Safety Starts With You Video | Tobacco Free Policy

This information is important for you as a patient or family member about your rights and responsibilities. Please read it carefully and let us know if we can answer questions and/or give you more information.

Patient Rights

You have the right to…

1. Be treated with courtesy and in a caring way that respects your personal values and beliefs.
2. Make decisions about your plan of care before and during all of your treatment.
3. Have your doctor get your consent before any procedure or treatment is started except in emergencies.
4. Know the names of all the doctors and other people giving you care.
5. Privacy and confidentiality during all of your care.
.
6. Know the rules that concern you as a patient.
7. Treatment without unnecessary delay when emergency measures are needed.
8. Receive quality care that we will continually follow and review to make sure it is the correct care.
9. Know about your condition, treatment and outcome including information about other measures and possible complications.
10. Give your consent before taking part in any care that is part of a medical research or donor program. If you have given consent before, you may change your consent at any time.
11. Refuse any drugs, treatment or procedure and to be told of the possible outcome of your refusal by your doctor.
12. At your request, have help getting the opinion of another doctor at your own expense.
13. Get all necessary services without discrimination for any reason.
14. Have someone present who speaks your language if you do not speak English.
15. Expect good skills and treatment to be used that think about the best use of your time and avoids your personal discomfort.
16. Facts about the reason for a transfer if you are to be sent to another facility and the signing of consent after complete information shared with you or your family.
17. A complete list of service charges and a description of the charges when you ask for them.
18. Know the immediate and long-term costs of your treatment as far as they are known.
19. Full information and counseling about the financial help that is there for your healthcare.
20. Expect that your care will continue and you will be told by your caregivers about the choices you have when hospital care is no longer the best choice for care.
21. Ask that the information in your medical records be given to you, unless your doctor holds them for medical reasons.
22. Keep your medical records confidential unless release is required by law or by your insurance.
23. Ask for a change to a different room if another patient or visitor is unreasonably disturbing you, if a suitable room is available.
24. Facts about the System’s advance medical directive policy.
25. Have an advance medical directive that allows you to give directions about your future medical care or to choose another person to do so for you if you are unable to make your own decisions. You will still be given care if you do not have an advance medical directive.
26. Know of these patient rights as soon as possible following your admission.
27. Contact the System’s Ethics Committee through the senior vice president/Medical Affairs office for any ethical concerns having to do with decisions made about your care.
28. Be free from physical or chemical restraints.
29. Be free from verbal, sexual, physical or mental abuse, corporal punishment and involuntary seclusion.
30. Have pain assessed and managed.
31. File a complaint with Susquehanna Health System or the PA Department of Health when there is a grievance with your medical care or violation of your patient rights. You may call the following numbers during regular business hours.
    
    The Williamsport Hospital - 570-321-2102
    Divine Providence Hospital - 570-326-8102
    Muncy Valley Hospital - 570-546-4242
    PA Department of Health - 1-800-254-5164.

Patient Responsibilities

1. You or your designee must give your doctors and other people giving you care, complete information about how you feel, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medicines, advance medical directives and any other matters about your health. Any changes in your condition must be told right away.
2. You are responsible to tell your doctor when you do not understand directions or procedures about your treatment.
3. It is up to you to follow the treatment plan given to you for your care. If you refuse treatment or do not follow the treatment plan, you are responsible for keeping appointments and for telling your doctor or other healthcare providers if you are not able to do so.
4. You are expected to consider the rights and privacy of other patients and staff.
5. You are responsible to follow the no smoking rules, to limit the number of visitors in your room and to help control the noise.
6. You are expected to be careful of the property of other people and of the facility.
7. You are responsible for making sure that your bills for services are paid promptly.

If you have questions about your patient rights and responsibilities when you are admitted, please call your doctor, your nurse, Social Services or Pastoral Care Services on any of our three Hospital campuses.

To protect the rights of our patients, we are required under the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990 to provide you with written information regarding your rights to make decisions concerning your medical care. This includes the right to accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment and the right to formulate and present your wishes in an advance directive, such as a living will. Many people prepare an advance directive that outlines their wishes concerning medical treatment should they be incapacitated, and in a terminal condition or in a state of permanent unconsciousness. Throughout Susquehanna Health System, advance directives and other formal methods for communicating your wishes are respected and encouraged. It is important that you or your designee present the hospital with a copy of your advance directive. You may withdraw your advance directive at anytime by notifying the nursing staff or your physician.

This information provides you with our System’s policies concerning your right to refuse treatment and the use of your advance directive.

For more information about making your wishes known read an article from the American Hospital Association.

Get involved and stay informed about important health care issues affecting Pennsylvania's communities.

Policy of Susquehanna Health

Advance directives and other formal methods for communicating the wishes of patients regarding their healthcare treatment are respected and encouraged throughout Susquehanna Health System. The right of the patient to accept or refuse medical treatment, as contained within an advance directive, shall be recognized by all persons providing care for that patient. Susquehanna Health System will honor a patient’s advance directive when, in accordance with Pennsylvania Law (20 Pa. C.S.A. 5405), the following conditions are met:

1. A copy of the advance directive is provided to the attending physician.
2. The patient is determined by the attending physician to be incapacitated and in a terminal condition or in a state of permanent unconsciousness.

If you would like more information about advance directives or a form that provides information, please call:

Social Services Department
Divine Providence Hospital - 326-8137

Social Services Department
The Williamsport Hospital - 321-2151

Pastoral Care
Muncy Valley Hospital - 546-8282

Questions and Answers on Advance Directives
(reproduced with permission of Hospital Association of Pennsylvania Task Force on Advance Directives)

A Consumer Guide to Advance Health Care Directives

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.

Introduction

At Susquehanna Health, we are committed to protecting your health information. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes the personal information we collect, and how and when we use or disclose that information. It also describes your rights as they relate to your protected health information. This Notice became effective April 14, 2003, and applies to all protected health information as defined by federal regulations.

This Notice describes the practices of Susquehanna Health and all related entities as may exist from time to time, including specifically The Williamsport Hospital & Medical Center, Divine Providence Hospital, Muncy Valley Hospital, Susquehanna Home Care & Hospice, Susquehanna Ventures, Inc., Providence Cancer Treatment Services, Inc., Susquehanna Valley Cancer Treatment Center, Williamsport Area Ambulance Service Cooperative, Susquehanna Physician Services and all physicians employed by Susquehanna Physician Services or having staff privileges at any Susquehanna Health System hospital (collectively referred to in this Notice as "SH").

Understanding Your Health Record/Information

Each time you visit SH, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record will contain your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment and a plan for future care or treatment. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

• Basis for planning your care and treatment.
• Means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care.
• Legal document describing the care you received.
• Means by which you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided.
• Tool in educating health professionals.
• Source of information for medical research.
• Source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of this state and the nation.
• Source of information for our planning and marketing.
• Tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve.

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:

• Ensure its accuracy.
• Better understand who, what, when, where and why others may access your health information.
• Make more informed decisions when you allow SHS to share your health information with others.

Your Health Information Rights

Although your health record is the physical property of SH, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

• Obtain a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices upon request.
• Inspect and obtain a copy of your health record as permitted by law.
• Amend your health record as permitted by law.
• Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as permitted by law, although an accounting will not contain disclosures that were made for treatment, payment or healthcare operations purposes, or disclosures that were made with your authorization.
• Request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations. Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information as permitted by law, although SH is not required to agree on a requested restriction.
• Revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken.

Please contact the Privacy Officer at 570-321-1000 for more information if you would like to exercise any of the rights listed above.

Our Responsibilities

SH is required to:

• Maintain the privacy of your health information.
• Provide you with this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you.
• Abide by the terms of this notice.
• Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction.
• Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.
• Follow all applicable federal, state and local requirements for notification if your information is lost or stolen.

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our privacy practices change, you may obtain the revised Notice of Privacy Practices by accessing our Web site at susquehannahealth.org, by calling SH and requesting that the revised Notice be sent to you by mail or by asking for the revised Notice at the time of your next visit to SH.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice. We will also stop using or disclosing your health information after we have received a written termination of authorization, according to the procedures included in the authorization.

For More Information Or To Report A Problem

If have questions and would like additional information, you may call 570-321-1000 and request to speak to the Privacy Officer at SH.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the Privacy Officer at SH or with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint with either the Privacy Officer or the Office for Civil Rights.

Examples Of Disclosures For Treatment, Payment And Health Operations
and Other Uses Or Disclosures That May Be Made Without Authorization

Interpretation Services Through DT Interpreting

Susquehanna Health has invested in an interpreter service, provided by DT Interpreting, aimed at improving the quality of healthcare for our deaf and hard of hearing patients.

• 24-hour a day, 7 day a week availability.
• Access to nationally certified ASL interpreters.
• Use of two-way video conferencing equipment to connect with interpreters.
• Dedicated high-speed phone lines for quick connection and clear picture One teleconferencing unit on each campus.
• The Williamsport Hospital.
• Divine Providence Hospital.
• Muncy Valley Hospital.
• Immediate, effective communication for emergency and unplanned situations.

DT Interpreting provides the equipment—a television set and small video camera hooked up to high-speed phone lines—that allows the patient and doctor to communicate with an interpreter at a remote location. Call centers are staffed with certified interpreters around the clock to provide service. Here a DT Interpreting representative demonstrates the teleconferencing equipment to Susquehanna Health staff.

The first and only health system in north central Pennsylvania to use this technology, Susquehanna Health joins 65 other hospitals nationwide, three in Pennsylvania, already using this technology to improve communication.

Contracts With Local Interpreters

Susquehanna Health understands the value of direct human interaction. For pre-scheduled appointments and other planned or requested situations, we have contracted with local sign language interpreters to provide one-to-one communication with our deaf and hard of hearing patients. A combination of the video conferencing equipment and contracts with local interpreters assures our patients the most convenient, safe, effective and immediate communication during times of need.

Language Translation Services

A DT Interpreting subscription also provides Susquehanna Health access to language interpreters.

• 25 different languages by video.
• 150 languages by speaker phone.
• 24-hour a day, 7 day a week availability.

Susquehanna Health prohibits the use of tobacco and tobacco products in all company buildings, as well as on all grounds of the Williamsport, Divine and Muncy campuses in order to maintain a safe and healthy environment for all employees, visitors and patients.  Complete Policy