Patient Rights and Responsibilities

At Northwest Medical Specialties, PLLC, we are committed to ensuring that each patient entrusted to our care is treated with dignity, respect and compassion. We recognize that all patients have basic rights, and we will do everything possible to honor these rights. Likewise, Northwest Medical Specialties, PLLC has a right to set expectations and responsibilities for patients and their caregivers. The following is a summary of rights and responsibilities that we believe serve as a foundation for a good relationship between patients and their healthcare team.

Your Rights as a Patient:

• Receive considerate and respectful care
• Receive treatment without discrimination based on gender, cultural, economic, educational, or religious background, handicap, or disability
• Choose a healthcare provider, including an attending physician
• Know the name, professional status, and relationship of the provider responsible for coordinating your care
• Receive information about the services the organization provides, including any specific limitations
• Receive information from your physician, in terms you can understand, about your illness, course of treatment, prospects for recovery, the disciplines providing care, the frequency of visits, and any changes to your care plan. If providing this information directly to you is medically inadvisable, it will be given to the person you designate or another legally authorized person
• Receive the information needed to make an informed decision about any proposed treatment or procedure, including unanticipated outcomes under RCW 70.230.150, and consent to or refuse treatment
• Participate actively in decisions about your medical care, including the development and periodic revision of your care plan. To the extent permitted by law, this includes refusing treatment and resolving concerns about care decisions
• Receive full consideration of your privacy. Case discussions, consultations, examinations, and treatments will be confidential and conducted discreetly. You may ask why any individual is present
• Have all communications and records related to your care treated confidentially, including requiring written permission before records are released to anyone not involved in your care
• Receive reasonable responses to requests for services
• Receive reasonable continuity of care and know in advance the time and location of appointments and the physician providing care
• Receive spiritual or mental health care
• Be informed if your physician proposes human experimentation that may affect your care or treatment, and refuse participation in such research
• Be informed by your physician or designee of your ongoing healthcare requirements
• Examine and receive an explanation of your bill, regardless of the source of payment
• Have these rights explained to the person legally responsible for making medical decisions on your behalf
• Report concerns, voice grievances, or recommend changes regarding care, treatment, property, policies, personnel, or services without restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, reprisal, or fear of poor treatment, and have complaints investigated and resolved promptly
• Leave or discharge yourself from the facility, even against medical advice
• Access protective services
• Be informed in advance about the care or services you will receive and your related financial responsibility
• Be informed of your rights under state law to formulate an advance directive, if applicable
• Identify visiting personnel through proper identification
• Be free from and protected against mistreatment, neglect, verbal, mental, sexual, or physical abuse, injuries of unknown origin, and misappropriation of your property
• Be informed of the agency’s policies and procedures for disclosing clinical records
• Be informed of any financial benefits associated with a referral to another organization

Your Responsibilities as a Patient:

• Provide complete and accurate information about your current condition, medical history, and other matters related to your health
• Ask questions about unfamiliar practices or procedures and confirm that you understand your treatment plan and what is expected of you
• Follow the treatment plan established by your physician, including instructions from nurses and other healthcare professionals carrying out the physician’s orders
• Provide written consent to or refusal of treatments and procedures when requested by physicians or other healthcare personnel
• Meet your financial responsibilities promptly, including providing accurate insurance and billing information
• Keep scheduled appointments. If you cannot attend, notify our office at least 24 hours in advance
• Arrange for a responsible adult to drive you home and, when necessary, stay with you
• Respect the rights of other patients and facility personnel
• Submit all forms required to receive services

Providing Feedback:

Our goal is to provide the best healthcare experience possible. Patients, families, and visitors may express complaints or concerns about any aspect of care or their experience. All concerns will be addressed according to our policy.

To report a concern, contact the Administrator at (253) 428-8700 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PST, speak with any staff member, or mail a written statement to:
1624 South I Street, #305
Tacoma, WA 98405
If additional review is needed, you may also submit a complaint to one of the following:

Washington State Department of Health
Secretary of Health, Health Systems Quality Assurance
HSQA Complaint Intake
P.O. Box 47857
Olympia, WA 98504-7857
Phone: 1-800-633-6822
Email: HSQACComplaintintake@doh.wa.gov

Office of the Medicare Beneficiary Ombudsman
Office of the Regional Administrator
Division of Survey and Certification Operations Branch Manager
2201 6th Avenue, Suite 801
Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-615-2313 or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
TTY: 1-877-486-2048
Website: www.medicare.gov