Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

Board takeaway

• Rights: Patients and families need understandable information, meaningful choices, privacy, and respectful continuity of care.
• Communication: Explain the practice’s policies and the family’s responsibilities in language they can use.
• Refusal: If treatment is refused, discuss consequences and other appropriate care or transfer; refusal does not erase the patient’s needs.

Purpose and policy basis

• Cooperation: Dental care depends on cooperation among the patient, family, clinicians, and staff.
• Accessibility: Translate or simplify the bill of rights for the community and clarify expectations early.
• Authority: A parent may exercise rights and responsibilities for a minor or a patient who lacks decision-making capacity, consistent with legal authority.

Use Informed consent for the decision process and Recordkeeping for documentation, access, and correction of records.

Choice, dignity, and treatment decisions

• Patients may choose their provider, including a pediatric dentist as the child's primary oral health provider.
• Identify direct-care providers, their education/training, and any student, resident, or trainee role.
• Provide comprehensive, safe, considerate, respectful dental-home care without undue bias or discrimination; offer courtesy, dignity, and timely attention.
• A dentist makes oral health diagnoses. Patients participate fully in treatment decisions.
• Explain diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis using current, accurate, understandable information.
• Discuss procedure risks, benefits, and medically reasonable alternatives. Life-threatening emergency care may be an exception to this discussion.
• Revisit: Decisions may change before or during treatment.
• Refusal is permitted to the extent allowed by law; explain its health consequences.
• Next care: Offer other appropriate services available from the dentist or transfer to another dentist.
• Explain research fully before consent. Participation may be declined without losing access to the most effective care otherwise available from the dentist.

Access, costs, and practice transparency

• Support reasonable continuity and needed emergency care for acute dental trauma or oral infection.
• Explain known immediate and long-term financial implications, service charges, and payment options.
• Make practice policies, patient responsibilities, and grievance/conflict mechanisms accessible.
• Disclose, when asked, business relationships with institutions, providers, or payors that may influence care.

Privacy and records

• Protect privacy during discussions, consultations, examinations, and treatment; invite specific privacy concerns.
• Keep communications and records confidential, subject to legally permitted or required reporting, such as suspected abuse or public health hazards.
• Emphasize confidentiality when sharing information with authorized reviewers; inform patients of confidentiality breaches.
• Allow record review with explanation or interpretation as needed, except where law restricts access. Patients may request record amendments.

Patient and family responsibilities

• Supply accurate, complete health information to the best of their knowledge: illnesses, conditions, hospitalizations, medications, and other relevant history.
• Ask for clarification when information or instructions are unclear.
• Accept accountability for refusing care or not following instructions; tell caregivers about anticipated barriers, including difficulty with follow-up.
• Keep appointments or notify the office promptly when unable to attend.
• Respect other patients and workers; avoid disrupting operations, derogatory/profane behavior, and excessive noise.
• Use available institutional conflict-resolution channels. Verbal or physical abuse of staff is prohibited.
• The policy instructs patients to follow HIPAA guidelines, including avoiding images, recordings, or videos of people or protected health information.
• Provide accurate insurance details and meet financial obligations for services received.

Common board traps

Answer aloud

A parent refuses your treatment plan. What follows?

The parent may decline the proposed plan after an informed discussion.

• Explain likely consequences and reasonable alternatives, check understanding, and discuss other suitable care or transfer.
• Document the discussion and decision so refusal does not leave the family's options or the patient's needs unclear.

A family has a privacy complaint and trouble attending follow-up. How do you respond?

Address the privacy concern and explain how to use the practice's grievance process.

• Separately, clarify follow-up instructions and ask about barriers to attendance so the family can participate in care.
• The response should respect the family's rights while helping them meet the patient's continuing care needs.