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Phone: 843-682-5050

Fax: 843-682-5041

Patient Rights

As a patient at the Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head (OSCHH), you have the following rights:

  • Considerate, respectful, and dignified care and respect for personal values, beliefs and preferences.
  • Access to treatment without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, creed/religion, sex, gender identity, age, mental disability, or physical ability. Any treatment determinations based on a person’s physical status or diagnosis will be made on the basis of medical evidence and treatment capability.
  • Respect of personal privacy.
  • Receive care in a safe and secure environment.
  • Exercise your rights without being subjected to discrimination or reprisal.
  • Know the identity of persons providing care, treatment or services and, upon request, be informed of the credentials of healthcare providers and, if applicable, the lack of malpractice coverage.
  • Expect the facility to disclose, when applicable, physician financial interests or ownership in the facility.
  • Receive assistance when requesting a change in primary or specialty physicians, dentists, or anesthesia providers if other qualified physicians, dentists, or anesthesia providers are available.
  • Receive information about health status, diagnosis, the expected prognosis, and expected outcomes of care, in terms that can be understood, before a treatment or procedure is performed.
  • Receive information about unanticipated outcomes of care.
  • Receive information from the physician about any proposed treatment or procedure as needed in order to give or withhold informed consent.
  • Participate in decisions about the care, treatment, or services planned and refuse care, treatment, or services, in accordance with law and regulation.
  • Be informed, or when appropriate, your representative should be informed (as allowed under state law), of your rights in advance of furnishing or discontinuing patient care whenever possible.
  • Receive information in a manner tailored to your level of understanding, including a provision of interpretative assistance or assistive devices.
  • Have family be involved in care, treatment, or services decisions to the extent permitted by you or your surrogate decision maker, in accordance with laws and regulations.
  • Appropriate assessment and management of pain, information about pain, pain relief measures and participation in pain management decisions.
  • Give or withhold informed consent to produce or use recordings, film, or other images for purposes other than case, and to request cessation of production of the recordings, films or other images at any time.
  • Be informed of and permit or refuse any human experimentation or other research/education projects affecting care or treatment.
  • Confidentiality of all information pertaining to care and stay in the facility, including medical records and, except as required by law, the right to approve of refuse the release of your medical records.
  • Access to and/or copies of your medical records within a reasonable time frame and the ability to request amendments to your medical records.
  • Have an advance directive, such as a living will or durable power of attorney for healthcare, and be informed as to the facility’s policy regarding advance directives/living will.  Expect the facility to provide the state’s official advance directive form if requested and where applicable.
  • Obtain information on disclosures of health information within a reasonable time frame.
  • Be free from restraints of any form that are not medically necessary or are used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff.
  • Be free from all forms of abuse or harassment.
  • Access to language assistance service, free of charge, which may be a qualified interpreter for individuals with limited English proficiency or individuals with a disability.
  • Expect the facility to establish a process for prompt resolution of a patient’s grievances and to inform each patient who to contact to file a grievance.  Grievances/complaints and suggestions regarding treatment or care that is (or fails to be) furnished may be expressed at any time.  Grievances may be lodged with the state agency directly using the contact information provided.

If a patient is adjudged incompetent under applicable State laws by a court of proper jurisdiction, the rights of the patient will be exercised by the person appointed under State law to act on the patient’s behalf.

If a state court has not adjudged a patient incompetent, any legal representative or surrogate designated by the patient in accordance with State law may exercise the patient’s rights to the extent allowed by state law.