Patient rights: You have a say in your healthcare

Patients have certain rights and responsibilities.

You, your loved ones, and medical providers can work better as a team if you know and respect your patient rights and responsibilities. Below we show the main ones.

You have a right to:

Quality care, such as being able to make treatment decisions with advice from your doctors. You may choose the type of treatment, or lack of treatment, regardless of their medical advice.
Health information, such as viewing your medical records along with your doctors
Financial information, such as help with your billing
Protection of your privacy, such as knowing how your information is shared
Take action when you have concerns, such as knowing how to file a complaint at the hospital

You have a responsibility to:

Care for your health, such as working with the team to manage your pain
Share information, such as an advance directive or other legal documents that show what kind of treatments you want or don’t want
Follow hospital rules, such as being polite to doctors, hospital staff, and other patients
Give correct and complete financial information, such as about your insurance plan

Patient rights may differ between counties

To ensure that you have updated information on your rights, consult with patient advocates at your hospital. They will be able to answer your questions and provide a list of hospital policies about patient care.

Rights of elderly patients

We believe that every person, including elders, have the right to make choices and control decisions to align with their values. It’s easy for patients to feel like they have little control over what happens to them, but there are many policies in place to ensure that patients, especially elderly patients, have the final say in their treatment and care.

Elderly patients may be especially concerned with certain rights. The Senior Rights page of the Texas Attorney General lists, among others, the right to: