Patient Rights and Responsibilities

Sets out the rights and responsibilities of every patient, the written notices the Agency gives during the initial evaluation visit before care is furnished, how staff explain rights and confirm the patient understands them, how representatives exercise rights, and how the Agency protects rights in daily practice. Georgia’s home health rule has no patient rights section, so the Agency applies the federal home health patient rights to every patient as its own standard; they are a federal condition if the Agency is Medicare-certified.

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About this policy

Policy number: GA-HH-PR-01
Version: 1.0
Main rule: 42 CFR §484.50
Library: Georgia home health · 56 policies
Category: Client rights
Sections: 21

In short

Every patient gets a written notice of their rights at the first visit, before any care. The nurse explains it and the patient signs to say they received it.
Treat every patient and their home with respect. Ask before you do anything, and accept it when a patient says no.
If a patient says no to care, explain what may happen, write down what they said, and tell your supervisor the same day.
If you think a patient is being abused, neglected, or exploited, tell the Agency right away and report it: Georgia Adult Protective Services (Georgia Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services), toll-free 1-866-552-4464, press 3 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.), or online at any time at https://aging.georgia.gov/adult-protective-services; and the local law enforcement agency (call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger).
A patient can complain to us or to the state at (800) 878-6442 at any time. Never treat a patient differently because they complained.

What's inside

21 sections. The full text comes with the One-time Policy Pack.

Full text with a package

Terms of Reference
1. Purpose
2. Scope
3. Definitions
4. Policy Statement (42 CFR §484.50 and Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-31-.09)
5. Why the Agency Applies the Federal Rights to Every Patient
6. What the Patient Receives Before Care Is Furnished
7. Rights of Every Patient
8. Patient Responsibilities
9. Explaining Rights and Confirming Understanding
10. Representatives and the Exercise of Rights
11. Protecting Rights in Daily Practice
12. Reporting Suspected Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation
13. Complaints, the State Hotline, and Outside Help
14. Responsibilities
15. Records and Compliance Monitoring
16. Staff Training
17. References
18. Related Policies and Forms
19. Approval
20. Revision History

An inspector may ask

Show me the written notice of rights you give patients. When is it given, and where is the patient’s signature confirming receipt?
How do you make sure a patient with limited English or a disability understands the notice?

Georgia home health

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Rules it follows

42 CFR §484.50Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-31-.09Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-31-.09(f)O.C.G.A. §31-7-153O.C.G.A. §30-5-4O.C.G.A. §31-9-242 CFR §484.50(a)(4)42 CFR §484.50(c)(9)42 CFR §484.50(c)(10)42 CFR §484.50(c)(11)42 CFR §484.50(e)(2)

Forms included

GA-HH-PR-01-A Notice of Patient Rights and Responsibilities
GA-HH-PR-01-B Patient Rights Acknowledgment

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