Patient's Bill of Rights

Patients' rights protect autonomy, privacy, dignity, safety, and access while care is delivered. In the United States, “Patient's Bill of Rights” is not the name of one comprehensive federal bedside statute. A Medicare/Medicaid-participating hospital's obligations arise largely from 42 CFR 482.13 and are supplemented by HIPAA, EMTALA, the Patient Self-Determination Act, federal civil-rights law, state law, and facility policy. The Affordable Care Act uses the same phrase for a separate set of health-insurance protections; those protections should not be confused with bedside hospital rights. At the bedside, a right becomes a nursing action: support an informed choice, protect confidential information, provide a safe and respectful environment, and speak up when care is coercive, discriminatory, delayed, or inconsistent with documented wishes. A patient with decision-making capacity may accept or refuse treatment. Refusal calls for assessment, clear communication, documentation, and notification—not force or abandonment. A relative is not automatically the patient's legal decision-maker; the nurse must follow the authorized representative process and applicable state law. The first reasoning step is to identify the setting and the urgency. A hospital, dedicated emergency department,...