| Patient's
Bill of Rights and Responsibilities (Florida)
According to the
preamble of the Florida Patient's Bill of Rights and Responsibilities:
"It is a
public policy of the state that the interests of patients
be recognized in a patient's bill of rights and responsibilities
and that a health care facility or health care provider
may not require a patient to waive his or her rights as
a condition of treatment." (FL Stat 381.026)
One of those rights
is "individual dignity" and, as a part of that right,
the law states:
"Every patient
who is provided health care services retains certain rights
to privacy, which must be respected without regard to the
patient's economic status or source of payment for his or
her care. The patient's rights to privacy must be respected
to the extent consistent with providing adequate medical
care to the patient and with the efficient administration
of the health care facility or provider's office."
Similarly to HIPAA's
broad general exception for treatment
uses and disclosures (and its specific exception for incidental
uses and disclosures), the statute adds that there is no intent
to "preclude necessary and discreet discussion of a patient's
case or examination by appropriate medical personnel."
Patients have a
right to express grievances to a health care provider, a health
care facility, or the appropriate state licensing agency regarding
alleged violations of their rights. This includes the right
to know the health care provider's or health care facility's
procedures for expressing a grievance.
Health care providers
and facilities must make available to patents a written statement
of these rights and responsibilities. The statute's model
language for this notice lists the statute's rights and responsibilities,
beginning with this one:
"A patient
has the right to be treated with courtesy and respect, with
appreciation of his or her individual dignity, and with
protection of his or her need for privacy."
The Agency for
Health Care Administration (AHCA) is obligated to keep a supply
of model notices available for providers and facilities to
distribute. Health care facilities must adopt policies and
procedures to ensure that patients are provided the opportunity,
during the course of admission, to receive information regarding
their rights, including how to file complaints with the facility
and appropriate state agencies.
It must be admitted
that Florida's statutes and regulations do not address patient
privacy with perfect consistency. Some parts stipulate tight
controls over information while others grant broad exemptions
for certain kinds of use and disclosure. In part this reflects
an inevitable tradeoff for conflicting goals, and the incremental
construction of state statutes without an eye to overall congruence.
However, the overall
requirements for privacy, and a specific requirement for a
notice of rights, are broadly congruent with HIPAA's provisions.
See also:
Last modified:
15-May-2005
[RC]
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