Patient Rights and Responsibilities

We encourage all patients to know and understand their rights and responsibilities as written in the Florida Statutes and UF Health North policy. These are listed below. If you have any questions about your rights and responsibilities, or any concerns about your hospitalization, Patient Relations, as well as your health care team, are available to help you. Every attempt will be made to address your concerns as quickly as possible.

Our patients have the right to...

  • Be treated with courtesy and respect, with appreciation of individual dignity, and with protection of privacy.
  • A prompt and reasonable response to questions and requests.
  • Know who is providing medical services and who is responsible for your care.
  • Know what patient support services are available (including help with a hearing impairment, or an interpreter in your language if you do not speak English, at no charge to you).
  • Know what rules and regulations apply to your conduct.
  • Be provided with written information about advance directives and available health care decision-making options in Florida.*
  • Formulate advance directives and to have the medical staff and hospital personnel caring for you implement and comply with your advance directives.
  • Receive a "Notice of Beneficiary Discharge Rights," "Notice of Non-Coverage Rights" and "Notice of the Beneficiary Right to Appeal Premature Discharge," if you are a Medicare patient.
  • Participate in decisions involving your health care, including consideration of ethical issues. You have the right to participate in the development, including any revisions, and implementation of your inpatient treatment/care plan, outpatient treatment/care plan, your discharge plan, and your pain management plan.
  • Make informed decisions regarding your care, including the right to receive information from the health care provider about diagnosis, planned course of treatment, including surgical interventions, alternatives, risks, and prognosis and outcomes of care that may impact your decisions regarding treatment.
  • Accept or refuse treatment, except as otherwise provided by law.
  • Have a support person to be present 24 hours a day, during the course of your stay, unless the individual’s presence infringes on others’ rights, safety, or is medically or therapeutically contraindicated. This can be a family member, friend, or other individual.
  • Have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to the hospital.
  • Be given, upon request, full information and necessary counseling on the availability of financial resources for your care.
  • Know, upon request and in advance of treatment, whether the health care provider or health care facility accepts Medicare.
  • Receive, upon request prior to treatment, a reasonable estimate of charges for medical care.
  • Such reasonable estimate shall not change in your condition or treatment needs.
  • Receive a copy of a clear and understandable itemized bill upon request and to have the charges explained.
  • Impartial access to medical treatment or accommodations regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.
  • Receive treatment for any emergency medical condition that will deteriorate from failure to provide treatment.
  • Know if medical treatment is for experimental research purposes and to consent or refuse to participate in such experimental research.
  • Know the health care facility's procedure for expressing a grievance. You have the right to express grievances regarding any violation of your rights, through the grievance procedure of the health care provider who served you or the UF Health Jacksonville Patient Relations Department, and to the appropriate state agency.**
  • Personal privacy, except as limited for the delivery of appropriate care.
  • Receive care in a safe setting.
  • Be free from all forms of abuse, neglect and harassment whether from staff, other patients or visitors.
  • The confidentiality of your clinical records, except as provided by law.
  • Except under limited circumstances, access information contained in your clinical records within a reasonable time frame.
  • Access individuals outside the hospital by means of visitors and by written or verbal communication.
  • Retain and use personal clothing or possessions if space permits and it does not interfere with another patient or medical care.
  • Be free from restraints or seclusion used as means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation.
  • Appropriate assessment and management of pain.
  • Access any mode of treatment, including complementary or alternative health care treatments, that is, in your own judgment and the judgment of your physician(s), in your best interest, to the extent that such mode of treatment is offered by the hospital.

Our patients are responsible for...

  • Provide to the health care provider, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters relating to your health.
  • Report unexpected changes in your condition to the health care provider.
  • Report to the health care provider whether you understand a planned course of action and what is expected of you.
  • Follow the treatment plan recommended by the health care provider.
  • Keep appointments and, when unable to do so for any reason, notify the health care provider or health care facility.
  • Be responsible for your actions if you refuse treatment or do not follow the health care provider's instructions.
  • Assure the financial obligations of your health care are fulfilled as promptly as possible.
  • Follow health care facility rules and regulations on patient care and conduct.
  • Notify the health care provider of any advance directive(s) you may have executed.
  • Be respectful of the property of other persons and of the hospital.

* It is the policy of UF Health Jacksonville to honor all appropriately completed Advance Directives.

** Agency for Health Care Administration
2727 Mahan Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32308
888-419-3456
— or —
The Joint Commission
Office of Quality Monitoring
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
800-994-6610