Patient & Family Bill of Rights

Patients & their families have the right to health care:

- Obtaining appropriate, continuous, structured, and specialized “evidence-based medicine” health service at every level of care, whether preventive or curative and promptly, by treatment eligibility policies and procedures and within the facility’s capacity and the laws regulating its operation

- Examined by a specialized medical team.

- Providing the appropriate environment that helps patients’ healing during the treatment period in the health facility.

- Giving priority in treatment to emergency cases without delay

- Providing medical care in the diagnosis, treatment, and other services in a manner that achieves the aspirations and satisfaction of patients as much as possible.

- Ensuring that the patient or his legal guardian is fully aware of all information related to the patient’s health condition and status clearly and adequately and in understandable language.

- Provide an appropriate mechanism for education and guidance on drug treatment and other treatments

- Receiving the appropriate assessment of pain when the patient is admitted to the facility and on an ongoing basis

- Provide adequate nutrition appropriate to the patient’s health condition

- Participating with the medical team in the treatment plan and making decisions regarding a patient’s health condition

- Providing information upon discharge about a health condition

- Provide an interpreter (if available) if the language barrier presents a problem in understanding the details of the care and treatment

Knowing the rights and responsibilities of patients & their families:

Understanding and fully exercising the rights, and providing all possible means inside and outside the facility to introduce the document of patients’ rights and responsibilities, and provide an electronic or paper copy upon entering the facility or registering in it, in the health service provision departments and waiting areas.

Providing healthcare services & care based on respect & appreciation:

- Providing adequate health care at all times and under all circumstances in a way that preserves their dignity without compromising their religious, doctrinal, and spiritual beliefs and their cultural and social background.

- Use the appropriate Islamic and social etiquette when dealing directly with patients and their families in general and use the patient’s name on official papers and not be given any other definition.

- Respect the patient’s right to express the severity of pain.

- Providing dignified care to the patient in cases of death and dying, and properly handling the corpse.

Privacy & Confidentiality:

- Provide privacy and confidentiality when discussing the patient’s treatment program, whether with him or his legal guardian.

- Preventing circulation or access to patient information, whether in the medical file or medical information related to diagnosis, analysis, and treatment to any party or person without the consent of the patient or his legal guardian (except as required by judicial authorities).

- Preventing access to the patient’s medical file for non-members of the medical team supervising the treatment, those authorized by the management of the facility, those authorized by the patient or his guardian, or the judicial authorities.

- Prevent meeting of anyone who is not related to the patient, or provision of healthcare, including visitors.

- Preparing places for admission, examination, and medical procedures, taking all possible measures to preserve privacy

- Provide the patient with appropriate clothing and necessary personal tools.

- Provide suitable and separate waiting areas for women and men.

Provide protection & safety:

- Providing health care in a safe, clean, and sterile environment

- Providing the appropriate tools and mechanisms to protect them from physical harm, diseases, and infection, such as washing hands and providing safety precautions before and during entry or transportation to, from, and inside the health facility facilities, and before starting any medical procedure.

- Applying the infection control rules approved by the Ministry of Health systems to protect patients from infection.

- Ensuring that the service provider follows the safety guidelines before, during, and after the medical procedure or examination, and the patient has the right to remind him of that or to request a change.

- Clarify by all explanatory means that patients and their families can understand before and during entering all places that may expose the patient and his family to harm, such as areas of radiation, magnetic resonance imaging, places under construction, while performing cleaning or sterilization operations, and others.

- Providing security and safety to protect people with special needs such as children, the elderly, women

- Protecting them from psychological harm, reprimand, and insults by any employee of the health facility.

- The medical team is obligated to report all cases of physical or psychological violence to the concerned party.

- Provide appropriate places, mechanisms, and procedures to protect their property from theft and damage.

- Smoking is prohibited in all health facility facilities.

- Providing special procedures for people with special needs (in terms of assistance, facilitating procedures, providing appropriate facilities, parking, number of people accompanying the patient, etc.).

- Verify the identity of the guardian, or the person authorized by the patient to sign on his behalf.

Participation in the healthcare plan:

- Enable the patient and their families to communicate with the treatment team to obtain complete and updated information regarding the diagnosis, the proposed treatment, its expected benefits, the expected results, and knowledge of suggested medical alternatives—also, as complications, risks, and the probability of treatment success in the language they understand.

- Clarify transparently the possibilities of care available in the health facility for patients who need care that exceeds the capabilities of the facility, inform them of other services and their responsibilities, and strive to provide this with the competent authorities.

- Knowing the names of the participants in providing the health service to them, their specializations, and the name of the doctor responsible for the treatment and follow-up of the case before carrying out any treatment procedure.

- Inform them of the presence of licensed trainees if they are part of the treating medical team.

- Discuss with the medical team the necessary information before any therapeutic procedure or operation and before signing the medical consent form, except for emergency cases that require medical intervention per the applicable laws and regulations.

- The patient’s knowledge of the types of interventions, drugs, and radiation used in treatment, also their effectiveness, safety, and security.

- Clarify the reasons for transferring the patient to another place inside or outside the health facility before the transfer and give him the necessary instructions.

- Request to take another medical opinion in coordination with the competent authority in the health facility when necessary.

- Clarify the reasons for transferring or changing patient care from one consultant to another.

Refusal of treatment:

- Informing the patient of the possibility of refusing all or part of the prescribed treatment in a manner that does not conflict with the applicable laws and regulations and informing them of the expected results of the refusal decision. Also, for the follow-up to the treatment instructions, they need them to sign the acknowledgment form for the scheduled procedure and document this in the patient’s file.

- The refusal of treatment should not result in any decisions or procedures that are not related to the patient’s health status. The service provider in the health facility is obligated to continue providing him with appropriate care, even during the times of the visit for the same disease or other by the medical standards followed.

- Inform the patient of other alternative treatments in the event of a refusal.

Knowing the material costs & health insurance:

- Obtain approximate information on the expected cost before starting treatment.

- Identify the limits of health insurance coverage available to the patient and the consequences thereof.

- Answer all inquiries related to the treatment bill, regardless of who will pay it.

- Issuing an accurate bill for the services provided and their costs.

- Have a board for those who are eligible for treatment.

- Having a billboard describing in a simplified manner the services and their costs.

- The beneficiary is informed about the deductible pay, and any additional payments

To the beneficiary, before receiving the service.

The beneficiary signs an agreement for paying additional services, outside the scope of their

Insurance policy. Before receiving the service.

The beneficiary is provided with an itemized service bill for additional services

When requested.

The beneficiary is granted a free of charge room upgrade in the event of

Non-availability of insurance policy assigned room.

Clarity & comprehensiveness of forms & reports

- Authorizing a person to sign on the medical authorization and to take decisions on their behalf, when necessary, with their knowledge and the full consent of the patient.

- Introducing the patient to the information contained in the medical consent clearly and in understandable language, with an explanation of the expected negative and positive results as a result of the approval or rejection. With a list of interventions that need separate medical permission and keeping the medical permission in the patient’s file.

- Giving medical reports proving his condition and justifying periods of absence from work.

Knowing policies & procedures for complaints & suggestions:

- Submit oral or written suggestions, requests, inquiries, or complaints, signed or not, to the health facility, without any impact on the quality of service provided to them, with the possibility of raising a complaint to various levels in the health facility.

- Knowing Policies and procedures for handling complaints that include defining the entity or entities authorized to receive complaints in the facility, determining the complaints path and the policy followed in the treatment, then submitting periodic reports to all levels on complaints, actions taken, final answers to patients and their satisfaction with that, and studying and analyzing complaints and their causes and corrected.

- Informing them of the policies, procedures, and mechanisms used in the health facility to study complaints and suggestions, and the expected time to respond to them.

Policies & Procedures for Organ & Tissue Donation:

You have the right to donate organs or tissues to one of your family members or others, and to have advice that shows the benefits and risks, you should contact the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) phone number: 8001245500.

Responsibility of patients and their families

Familiarize themselves with their responsibilities and abide by the procedures and policies followed in the health facility, which is designed by the regulations, laws, and medical and legal procedures to achieve the interest of other patients and the community. Also, to educate their visitors on their responsibilities and ensure their implementation.

- Protecting the property of the health facility and the property of others

- The safe and correct use of the facilities and equipment in the health facility.

- Bring proof of the patient’s identity.

- Giving complete and accurate information about the patient’s personal, health, and disease data.

- Inform the doctor of any confirmed or possible genetic diseases and any Infectious diseases in contact.

- Notifying health service providers of the patient’s previous surgeries and his reviews of other health facilities.

- Report any change in the patient’s health condition.

- Inform the attending physician of a lack of understanding of the treatment plan and prescribed interventions.

- Providing complete and accurate information about the patient’s health insurance coverage and taking responsibility for it.

- Inform patients about metal cardiac, or orthodontic during imaging that may affect their health.

- The patient or his family paid the bills for the consequences of treatment.

- Follow the prescribed treatment plan, and in the event of refusal or failure to follow the instructions, the patient or the legal guardian bears the responsibility for this and the consequences and complications.

- Treatment of all staff and other patients and visitors with respect.

- Commitment to general rules and respect for the religious, intellectual, and sectarian beliefs of others.

- Respect the privacy of others.

- Follow the regulations and guiding instructions of the health facility.

- Follow the safety and security regulations and instructions in the health facility.

- Commit to appointments and contact the appointments department in the event of not being able to attend.

- Commitment to implement the decision to transfer to another place or to leave as decided by the treating physician.

- Non-smoking in all facilities of the health facility.

- Informing the admissions officer, the staff, and the medical staff involved in the treatment if he suffers from an infectious disease. This is due to the importance of taking global precautions that benefit those in contact and the medical staff without affecting his treatment, diminishing his rights, affecting his treatment plan, or isolating him without valid reasons.