Patient and Visitor Information

Patient Rights and Responsibilities

In accordance with the mission, vision and values of Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, its medical staff, employees, volunteers and BJC HealthCare, we are committed to providing you with quality care and treatment. In addition to receiving quality compassionate care, as a patient you are entitled to certain benefits and protections under law.

We believe that these rights provide a fundamental foundation for the rendering of health care services and link us to comprehensive analysis of every benefit under federal or state law, we affirm and support the following patient rights. 

Accessing Care and Services
As a patient, you have the following rights:

1. To receive notification of your patient rights in writing and information concerning important hospital policies and a list of available supportive resources, such as an ethics commit-tee, patient advocate and pastoral and spiritual services, in advance of furnishing or discontinuing patient care whenever possible.
2. To request treatment and receive considerate and respectful care from hospital personnel.
3. To expect medically appropriate health services from the hospital with-in its capabilities. Although treatment referral or transfer may be medically appropriate, you will be informed of the risks, benefits and alternatives prior to the transfer of your care to other health care providers. You will not be transferred from the hospital until another institution accepts to receive you for care.
4. To voice any concerns that you may have regarding the care you receive and to have those concerns reviewed and resolved. Voicing a concern whether, by you or another individual on your behalf, will not compromise your care or access to health-care at the hospital. If you or a designated representative has a concern regarding care received, you or your representative are encouraged to contact any staff present, the manager, or director of that department. 
5. To access an internal (Hospital) or external grievance process for the timely review of concerns or more serious issues that may affect care, and to receive a written notice of any decision made regarding your concern. The telephone number and address of the available state agency that you may contact is listed in this brochure.
6. To expect that your physician and family members or representatives will be notified promptly of your admission to the hospital, unless you request that this not be done.
7. To access available communications, including mail and telephones, and permitted visitors unless either are clinically contraindicated. Any restrictions, however, will be explained to you.
8. To examine and receive an explanation of your hospital bill.
9. The patient has the right to receive visitors they designate including, but not limited to a spouse, domestic partner, another family member or a friend regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. The patient has the right to withdraw or deny visitation privileges based on their preferences
10. BJSPH is committed to providing services that are accessible to patients, families, and companions who have limited English proficiency (LEP) or who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH). For LEP/DHH individuals seeking services from BJSPH, qualified interpreters are available (at no cost to you or your family) to help communicate with your medical providers.

In Receiving Treatment
As a patient, you have the following rights:

1. To be involved in the development and implementation of your plan of care and to receive information from your physician to enable your informed decision and consent prior to the start of any procedure and/or treatment. Except in emergencies, such information for informed consent should include, at a minimum, the specific procedures and/or treatment proposed, the medically significant risks involved, the benefits of the procedure and the medical alternatives, if any, available.
2. To receive medically necessary and appropriate care.
3. To obtain understandable information concerning your diagnosis and health status, proposed treatment and prognosis, and the financial implications associated with the available treatment choices.
4. To know the name of the physician responsible for coordinating your care, as well as the identities of other healthcare members involved in your care.
5. To refuse treatment, to the extent permitted by law, including being informed of the medical consequences of the refusal of treatment.
6. To the appropriate assessment and management of your pain.
7. To be free from restraints or seclusion that are not medically necessary or are imposed as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience or retaliation by staff, or used in a manner that is not consistent with federal or state regulations.
8. To consent or decline to take part in research and/or experimental procedures affecting your care.
9. To have your rights protected during research, investigation and clinical trials involving human subjects.
10. To be informed by the practitioner responsible for your care of any continuing health care needs following discharge from the hospital.
11. To know if the hospital has relationships with outside individuals that may influence your treatment and care. These relationships may be with educational institutions, other healthcare providers or insurers.

Personal Privacy and Confidentiality
As a patient, you have the following rights:

1. To confidentiality and personal privacy concerning your medical care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are confidential. Those not directly involved in your care must have your permission to be present during any medical or nursing treatments or discussion of your care.
2. To receive care in a safe setting, free from abuse or harassment.
3. To expect that all communications and records pertaining to your care are treated as confidential. Permission in writing is necessary before the hospital will release any health cae information, except as may otherwise be required by law.
4. To reasonable access and review of your medical records.

Advance Health Care Directives and End of Life Decisions
As a patient, you have the following rights:

1. To inform the hospital of any advance directives for health care, such as a living will or power of attorney for healthcare, that express your care and treatment wishes should you be unable to express those wishes. If you have a written advance directive, you should provide copies to your physician, the hospital and your family. If you do not have one and wish to receive information concerning advance directives, we can provide you with some information. 
2. To have end-of-life issues related to your care addressed with dignity and sensitivity, and to participate in any discussion concerning any ethical issues arising from your care. If you have any ethical issues or concerns regarding your care of if you need assistance with community resources, you are encouraged to contact the hospital Social Services Department at 636-344-1364 or the nurse manager on duty.
3. To have the hospital staff and practitioners who provide you with care in the hospital comply with these directives to the extent permitted under law and consistent with your provider’s beliefs.

Patient Responsibilities
Because your participation in your care is important, you, as the patient, have the following responsibilities:

1. To provide, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, past ill-nesses, hospitalizations, medications, description of pain and pain relief and other matters relating to your health, and to report unexpected changes in your condition to your provider and hospital staff caring for you.
2. To ask questions or request additional information if you do not understand what you have been told about your care or treatment plan.
3. Once an agreed upon plan of care is determined to follow the established treatment plan as the coordinated plan of care and the interventions for pain relief. You are responsible for keeping appointments, and when unable to do so for any reason, to notify your practitioner or the hospital.
4. To be responsible for your own decisions if you refuse treatment or do not follow the practitioner’s instructions concerning the treatment plan.
5. To follow the hospital policies and rules affecting your care and conduct while in the hospital.
6. To be considerate of other patients and hospital staff. The hospital works to provide care efficiently and fairly to all patients.
7. To facilitate the arrangements for the appropriate payment to the hospital for the care and treatment provided to you, including pro-viding accurate information of insurance or other payment information.

Your health depends not just on your hospital care, but, in the long term, on the decisions you make in your daily life and the effects of those lifestyle decisions on your personal health.

Ethics Committee
Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital is committed to delivering the highest standards of care to all patients regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or religion. There may be times during a serious illness that you or your family may face difficult treatment choices. We will always look to the patient to participate in decision making or seek direction from their advanced directive if they are unable to speak for themselves. The Ethics Committee can be consulted when caregivers, patients or families feel the need to seek help with ethical issues that they have not been able to address comfortably with their health care provider. Requests for assistance can be made through your physician or other members of the health care team.

Resolution of Client Concerns
It is the policy of Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital that their clients are informed of their rights and given the opportunity to present their concerns.

The primary contact for patients can be reached by contacting the Hospital Operator at 636.916.9000 and asking them to contact the Nurse Manager for your nursing floor, or the House Supervisor who is available after hours and on weekends. Either the Manager or House Supervisor will meet with the complainant to review the problem. If the problem cannot be resolved promptly by staff who are present, the complainant will receive continuous feedback on the progress of its resolution.  

The patient may lodge a grievance with the State agency directly, regardless of whether he/she has first used the hospital’s grievance process.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
Bureau of Health Services Regulation
P.O. Box 570
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-0570
573.751.6303

To report a complaint about quality of care to The Joint Commission, you may:
Phone: 800.994.6610
Email to: [email protected]
Fax to: 630.792.5636

Or mail to: Office of Quality Monitoring
The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois 60181

You can find more information regarding filing a complaint on The Joint Commission's website.