Marion Regional Healthcare System

Patient Rights and Responsibilities

Marion County Medical Center is committed to protect and promote each patient’s rights. Your safety and comfort level with the care you receive at Marion County Medical Center (MCMC) are among our highest priorities. This brochure is designed to provide you with some important information about your rights and responsibilities as a patient and information about your care and those who provide it. If you have any questions after reviewing this information, please inform any of your caregivers. Some of the physicians who practice at Marion County Medical Center (MCMC) are independent members of the medical staff. Others are employed by the hospital. The physicians who practice in the Emergency Department, Radiology, Pathology, and Anesthesiology are independent contractors. Your attending physician is the person responsible for your care while you are hospitalized. The attending physician may change during a hospitalization depending upon the type of care or services required for your care, or if your physician is away from the area.

Some attending physicians work closely with a physician assistant or nurse practitioner (Allied Health Professional). In this instance, these Allied Health Professionals would be making treatment decisions and participating in your care. Allied Health Professionals are credentialed by the hospital.

MCMC supports the education and development of clinical trainees, such as students of nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, phlebotomy, radiology, surgical technology, medicine, or other healthcare professions. MCMC does not have interns or residents who render patient care.

Clinical trainees may be involved in inpatient and outpatient care involving nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, phlebotomy, radiology or other clinical services. Clinical trainees perform their duties under the supervision of an instructor, preceptor, physician or other professional healthcare provider within the scope of practice for their education and experience.

Some of the physicians who practice at Marion County Medical Center (MCMC) are independent members of the medical staff. Others are employed by the hospital. The physicians who practice in the Emergency Department, Radiology, Pathology, and Anesthesiology are independent contractors. If you receive services from these independent physicians, you will receive a separate bill for these services. If you have surgery while you are a patient, you will receive two bills from anesthesiology that covers the administration of anesthesia and supervision.

All patients, to include adults and children and their designated representative have certain rights regardless of race, creed, sex, age, education level, culture, national origin, religion, diagnosis, language differences or sources of payment for care. Marion County Medical Center recognizes the personal dignity and autonomy of our patients and respects the patients’ rights as listed below. This list is not intended to be all-inclusive.

Patient Rights

As our patient:

You have the right to care, treatment, and services in a safe and secure environment and within the capability and mission of this institution and in compliance with law and regulation.
You have the right to access treatment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, or any disability.
You have the right to safe, considerate and respectful care, and to give us feedback about your care.
You have the right at any time during your hospital stay to discuss your personal medical care with your attending physician. Upon request, a nurse will provide you with your attending physician’s telephone number and assist you with placing the call. If you are unable to make a personal call, upon request, a nurse will call your attending physician to inform him/her (or his/her designee) of your concern and your need for one-on-one communication.
In addition, if you have any concerns about your treatment plan or hospital care, you may ask to speak with the Nursing Supervisor by dialing “3990” and having the supervisor paged to the telephone number in your patient room. The supervisor will work with you and hospital staff members to address your concerns.
You have the right to expect that your condition will be assessed as appropriate and a plan of care developed and implemented to address your health care priorities. This plan of care is to include, but not limited to: assessment and management of your pain, provisions for safety and nutrition and education for self-care.
You have the right to make informed decisions about your care. This includes being informed of your health status, being involved – before and during the course of treatment- in your care planning and treatment, being informed as to the nature of the proposed care, treatment, services, medications, interventions, and procedures as well as potential benefits, risks, or side effects, the likelihood of achieving goals, reasonable alternatives to proposed care and the relevant risks, benefits, and side effects related to alternatives.
You have the right to have dilemmas about care decisions resolved.
You have the right to know the identity and professional status of individuals authorizing and/or performing procedures and treatments to include physicians, nurses, other clinicians, trainees or students. All individuals who participate in your care (including clinical trainees) will wear badges that clearly state their name, department, and title. Physicians may wear lab jackets or scrubs with their name, title, and specialty.
You have the right to request or refuse medically appropriate treatment to the extent permitted by law, and to be informed of the medical consequences of such action. If you refuse a recommended treatment, you will receive other needed and available care.
You have the right to have your family, with your permission or your surrogate decision maker, be involved in your care, treatment, and services.
You have the right to have the hospital promptly notify a family member or a representative of your choice and your physician of your admission to the hospital.
You have the right to formulate an advance directive such as a Living Will or Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare with the expectation that the hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in this hospital will honor the directive to the extent permitted by law and hospital policy. This includes the right to withhold resuscitative services and to forgo or withdraw life-sustaining treatment and care at the end of life. If you have a written advance directive, you should provide a copy to the hospital, your family and your doctor. These documents express your choices about your future care or names someone for you if you cannot speak for yourself.
You have the right to express your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual values and to have your personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected as long as they do not harm others or interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatment.
You have the right to be free from restraints or seclusion of any form that are not medically necessary.
You have the right to the confidentiality of your clinical records. The health information in your medical record will be used to provide your treatment, to process and collect payment for related supplies and services and, as necessary to support the administrative, financial, and legal operations of the hospital. Your health information may also be released as permitted or required by law for health oversight activities, to report public health risks, or in cases such as suspected abuse. Please refer to the hospital’s “Notice of Privacy Practices” for more detail.
You have a right to every consideration of privacy to include personal, medical, and financial within the limits of the law and hospital policy.
You have the right to examine and receive an explanation of your bill, regardless of source of payment.
You have the right to access, request amendment to and receive an accounting of disclosures regarding your own health information as permitted under applicable law.
You have the right to an environment that preserves your dignity and contributes to a positive self-image. This includes sufficient storage space for personal items and the right to keep personal clothing and possessions, unless this infringes on other’s rights or is medically or therapeutically contraindicated (as appropriate to setting or service).
You have the right to be free from all forms of abuse or harassment to include mental, physical, sexual, and verbal abuse and neglect and to be protected from exploitation (others taking advantage of you for one’s own advantage or benefit).
You have the right to ask and be informed if this hospital has business relationships with outside parties such as other hospitals, educational institutions, insurers, or other healthcare providers that may influence your treatment and care.
You have the right to receive information on how to obtain protective and advocacy services.
You have the right to donate organs and other tissues.
You have the right to an interpreter if you do not speak English and/or other accommodations if you are visually or hearing impaired.
You have the right to expect, when medically appropriate and legally permissible, or when requested, to transfer to another facility after you have received a complete explanation or the need for, risks, benefits and alternative to such a transfer.
You have the right to ask and be informed of the immediate and long-term financial implications of treatment choices, insofar as they are known.
You have a right to review the records pertaining to your medical care and to have the information explained or interpreted as necessary, except when restricted by law.
You have a right to consent or refuse recording or filming of care.
You have a right to consent or decline to take part in research or human experimentation affecting care and treatment or requiring direct patient involvement and to have those studies fully explained prior to consent.
You have the right to expect reasonable continuity of care when appropriate and to be informed by physicians and other care providers of available and realistic patient care options when hospital care is no longer appropriate.
You have a right to voice a concern about your stay and be involved in resolving dilemmas about care, treatment and services. Your concerns are very important to us and we would appreciate the opportunity to resolve them. If you have a complaint/concern, please speak with the staff caring for you. If your concerns are not promptly resolved to your satisfaction, please ask for the manager of your unit or the nursing supervisor. The nursing supervisor is available 24 hours per day and will assist in resolving your concerns. There is an administrator on call 24 hours per day and may be reached by contacting the nursing supervisor. If you want to contact an outside agency , you may also contact SC Department of Health and Environmental Control at 1-800-922-6735 or 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, The Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence at 1-803-251-2215 or 1-800-922-3089, or 246 Stoneridge Drive, Suite 200, Columbia, SC 29210. If you have concerns regarding quality of patient care or safety that have not been addressed by the hospital, you may contact the Joint Commission at 1-800-994-6610.
You have the right to receive a written statement of rights and responsibilities on admission and available throughout hospitalization.

Patient Responsibilities

While you are a patient at Marion County Medical Center, it is you or your representative’s responsibility to:

Provide, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about your present complaint(s), past illnesses, medications, advance directives and any other matter that is relevant to your health care.
Ask about and understand what medical treatments you are to receive and inform your caregivers if you do not understand a course of action or what is expected of you.
Tell your responsible nurse or physician any unexpected changes in your condition.
Inform your physician when you are unable or unwilling to follow the recommended treatment plan.
Accept and recognize responsibility for your actions if you refuse treatment or if you do not follow your physician’s instructions.
Keep follow-up appointments and actively participate in your care after leaving the hospital or when unable to do so for any reason, notify your physician.
Be considerate of the rights of other patients and staff, helping to control noise and disturbances, abiding by non-smoking policies, and respecting others’ property.
Follow the hospital’s policies, procedures, rules, and regulations affecting healthcare including not leaving your unit without permission from your nurse and safeguarding your personal belongings or giving them to hospital staff for safekeeping..
Inform your nurse, nursing supervisor, physician or Administration of a conflict between patient, family, and hospital staff.
Provide the necessary information for insurance claims, pay your medical bill in a timely manner and for working with the hospital to make payment arrangements when needed.
Tell the hospital staff if you are dissatisfied with your care or services.
Get involved in your care or if questions or concerns develop.

Click here for a PDF copy of the Patient's Bill of Rights.



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Policy & Procedure >> Billing Information >> Patients Bill of Rights >> Hospital Infections Disclosure Act >> Privacy Notice Patient Visitation Pre-Registration Food and Nutrition Services Universal Medication Form Location & Map		Patient Rights and Responsibilities Marion County Medical Center is committed to protect and promote each patient’s rights. Your safety and comfort level with the care you receive at Marion County Medical Center (MCMC) are among our highest priorities. This brochure is designed to provide you with some important information about your rights and responsibilities as a patient and information about your care and those who provide it. If you have any questions after reviewing this information, please inform any of your caregivers. Some of the physicians who practice at Marion County Medical Center (MCMC) are independent members of the medical staff. Others are employed by the hospital. The physicians who practice in the Emergency Department, Radiology, Pathology, and Anesthesiology are independent contractors. Your attending physician is the person responsible for your care while you are hospitalized. The attending physician may change during a hospitalization depending upon the type of care or services required for your care, or if your physician is away from the area. Some attending physicians work closely with a physician assistant or nurse practitioner (Allied Health Professional). In this instance, these Allied Health Professionals would be making treatment decisions and participating in your care. Allied Health Professionals are credentialed by the hospital. MCMC supports the education and development of clinical trainees, such as students of nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, phlebotomy, radiology, surgical technology, medicine, or other healthcare professions. MCMC does not have interns or residents who render patient care. Clinical trainees may be involved in inpatient and outpatient care involving nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, phlebotomy, radiology or other clinical services. Clinical trainees perform their duties under the supervision of an instructor, preceptor, physician or other professional healthcare provider within the scope of practice for their education and experience. Some of the physicians who practice at Marion County Medical Center (MCMC) are independent members of the medical staff. Others are employed by the hospital. The physicians who practice in the Emergency Department, Radiology, Pathology, and Anesthesiology are independent contractors. If you receive services from these independent physicians, you will receive a separate bill for these services. If you have surgery while you are a patient, you will receive two bills from anesthesiology that covers the administration of anesthesia and supervision. All patients, to include adults and children and their designated representative have certain rights regardless of race, creed, sex, age, education level, culture, national origin, religion, diagnosis, language differences or sources of payment for care. Marion County Medical Center recognizes the personal dignity and autonomy of our patients and respects the patients’ rights as listed below. This list is not intended to be all-inclusive. Patient Rights As our patient: You have the right to care, treatment, and services in a safe and secure environment and within the capability and mission of this institution and in compliance with law and regulation. You have the right to access treatment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, or any disability. You have the right to safe, considerate and respectful care, and to give us feedback about your care. You have the right at any time during your hospital stay to discuss your personal medical care with your attending physician. Upon request, a nurse will provide you with your attending physician’s telephone number and assist you with placing the call. If you are unable to make a personal call, upon request, a nurse will call your attending physician to inform him/her (or his/her designee) of your concern and your need for one-on-one communication. In addition, if you have any concerns about your treatment plan or hospital care, you may ask to speak with the Nursing Supervisor by dialing “3990” and having the supervisor paged to the telephone number in your patient room. The supervisor will work with you and hospital staff members to address your concerns. You have the right to expect that your condition will be assessed as appropriate and a plan of care developed and implemented to address your health care priorities. This plan of care is to include, but not limited to: assessment and management of your pain, provisions for safety and nutrition and education for self-care. You have the right to make informed decisions about your care. This includes being informed of your health status, being involved – before and during the course of treatment- in your care planning and treatment, being informed as to the nature of the proposed care, treatment, services, medications, interventions, and procedures as well as potential benefits, risks, or side effects, the likelihood of achieving goals, reasonable alternatives to proposed care and the relevant risks, benefits, and side effects related to alternatives. You have the right to have dilemmas about care decisions resolved. You have the right to know the identity and professional status of individuals authorizing and/or performing procedures and treatments to include physicians, nurses, other clinicians, trainees or students. All individuals who participate in your care (including clinical trainees) will wear badges that clearly state their name, department, and title. Physicians may wear lab jackets or scrubs with their name, title, and specialty. You have the right to request or refuse medically appropriate treatment to the extent permitted by law, and to be informed of the medical consequences of such action. If you refuse a recommended treatment, you will receive other needed and available care. You have the right to have your family, with your permission or your surrogate decision maker, be involved in your care, treatment, and services. You have the right to have the hospital promptly notify a family member or a representative of your choice and your physician of your admission to the hospital. You have the right to formulate an advance directive such as a Living Will or Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare with the expectation that the hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in this hospital will honor the directive to the extent permitted by law and hospital policy. This includes the right to withhold resuscitative services and to forgo or withdraw life-sustaining treatment and care at the end of life. If you have a written advance directive, you should provide a copy to the hospital, your family and your doctor. These documents express your choices about your future care or names someone for you if you cannot speak for yourself. You have the right to express your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual values and to have your personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected as long as they do not harm others or interfere with diagnostic procedures or treatment. You have the right to be free from restraints or seclusion of any form that are not medically necessary. You have the right to the confidentiality of your clinical records. The health information in your medical record will be used to provide your treatment, to process and collect payment for related supplies and services and, as necessary to support the administrative, financial, and legal operations of the hospital. Your health information may also be released as permitted or required by law for health oversight activities, to report public health risks, or in cases such as suspected abuse. Please refer to the hospital’s “Notice of Privacy Practices” for more detail. You have a right to every consideration of privacy to include personal, medical, and financial within the limits of the law and hospital policy. You have the right to examine and receive an explanation of your bill, regardless of source of payment. You have the right to access, request amendment to and receive an accounting of disclosures regarding your own health information as permitted under applicable law. You have the right to an environment that preserves your dignity and contributes to a positive self-image. This includes sufficient storage space for personal items and the right to keep personal clothing and possessions, unless this infringes on other’s rights or is medically or therapeutically contraindicated (as appropriate to setting or service). You have the right to be free from all forms of abuse or harassment to include mental, physical, sexual, and verbal abuse and neglect and to be protected from exploitation (others taking advantage of you for one’s own advantage or benefit). You have the right to ask and be informed if this hospital has business relationships with outside parties such as other hospitals, educational institutions, insurers, or other healthcare providers that may influence your treatment and care. You have the right to receive information on how to obtain protective and advocacy services. You have the right to donate organs and other tissues. You have the right to an interpreter if you do not speak English and/or other accommodations if you are visually or hearing impaired. You have the right to expect, when medically appropriate and legally permissible, or when requested, to transfer to another facility after you have received a complete explanation or the need for, risks, benefits and alternative to such a transfer. You have the right to ask and be informed of the immediate and long-term financial implications of treatment choices, insofar as they are known. You have a right to review the records pertaining to your medical care and to have the information explained or interpreted as necessary, except when restricted by law. You have a right to consent or refuse recording or filming of care. You have a right to consent or decline to take part in research or human experimentation affecting care and treatment or requiring direct patient involvement and to have those studies fully explained prior to consent. You have the right to expect reasonable continuity of care when appropriate and to be informed by physicians and other care providers of available and realistic patient care options when hospital care is no longer appropriate. You have a right to voice a concern about your stay and be involved in resolving dilemmas about care, treatment and services. Your concerns are very important to us and we would appreciate the opportunity to resolve them. If you have a complaint/concern, please speak with the staff caring for you. If your concerns are not promptly resolved to your satisfaction, please ask for the manager of your unit or the nursing supervisor. The nursing supervisor is available 24 hours per day and will assist in resolving your concerns. There is an administrator on call 24 hours per day and may be reached by contacting the nursing supervisor. If you want to contact an outside agency , you may also contact SC Department of Health and Environmental Control at 1-800-922-6735 or 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, The Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence at 1-803-251-2215 or 1-800-922-3089, or 246 Stoneridge Drive, Suite 200, Columbia, SC 29210. If you have concerns regarding quality of patient care or safety that have not been addressed by the hospital, you may contact the Joint Commission at 1-800-994-6610. You have the right to receive a written statement of rights and responsibilities on admission and available throughout hospitalization. Patient Responsibilities While you are a patient at Marion County Medical Center, it is you or your representative’s responsibility to: Provide, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about your present complaint(s), past illnesses, medications, advance directives and any other matter that is relevant to your health care. Ask about and understand what medical treatments you are to receive and inform your caregivers if you do not understand a course of action or what is expected of you. Tell your responsible nurse or physician any unexpected changes in your condition. Inform your physician when you are unable or unwilling to follow the recommended treatment plan. Accept and recognize responsibility for your actions if you refuse treatment or if you do not follow your physician’s instructions. Keep follow-up appointments and actively participate in your care after leaving the hospital or when unable to do so for any reason, notify your physician. Be considerate of the rights of other patients and staff, helping to control noise and disturbances, abiding by non-smoking policies, and respecting others’ property. Follow the hospital’s policies, procedures, rules, and regulations affecting healthcare including not leaving your unit without permission from your nurse and safeguarding your personal belongings or giving them to hospital staff for safekeeping.. Inform your nurse, nursing supervisor, physician or Administration of a conflict between patient, family, and hospital staff. Provide the necessary information for insurance claims, pay your medical bill in a timely manner and for working with the hospital to make payment arrangements when needed. Tell the hospital staff if you are dissatisfied with your care or services. Get involved in your care or if questions or concerns develop. Click here for a PDF copy of the Patient's Bill of Rights.
The human body has been designed to resist an infinite number of changes and attacks brought about by its environment. The secret of good health lies in successful adjustment to changing stresses on the body. Harry J. Johnson