Patients' Rights and Responsibilities

The Rights of Patients and Their Families

At UPMC, patients with their needs and rights come first. In particular, by incorporating the contents of the European Charter of Patients' Rights, published for the first time in 2002 and approved by the European Parliament in 2006, we guarantee respect for the following rights:

Right to preventive measures

Everyone has the right to appropriate services to prevent disease.

Right of access

Everyone has the right to access the health services that his state of health requires. Health services must guarantee equal access to everyone, without discrimination on the basis of financial resources, place of residence, type of illness or time of access to the service.

Right to information

Everyone has the right to access all information concerning their state of health, health services and how to use them, as well as all the information that scientific research and technological innovation make available.

Right to consent

Everyone has the right to access all information that can enable them to participate actively in decisions affecting their health. This information is a prerequisite for any procedure and treatment, including participation in trials. Without the signed consent of the assisted person, in fact, the medical staff cannot undertake any diagnostic and treatment activity, except in the cases provided for by law: necessity and urgency; or when the person, at the moment unable to express his will, is in danger of life.

Right to free choice

Everyone has the right to choose freely between different procedures and providers of health treatment on the basis of adequate information.

Right to privacy and confidentiality

Everyone has the right to the confidentiality of personal information, including information concerning his state of health and possible diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, as well as the right to the protection of his privacy during the implementation of diagnostic tests, specialist visits and medical-surgical treatments in general.

Right to respect for patients' time

Everyone has the right to receive the necessary medical treatment within a short and predetermined timeframe. This right applies at every stage of the processing.

Right to compliance with quality standards

Everyone has the right to access high-quality health services, based on the definition and compliance with precise standards.

Right to security

Everyone has the right not to suffer harm resulting from the malfunctioning of health services or medical errors and has the right to access health services and treatments that guarantee high safety standards.

Right to innovation

Everyone has the right to access innovative procedures, including diagnostic procedures, in line with international standards and regardless of economic or financial considerations.

Right to avoid unnecessary suffering and pain

Everyone has the right to avoid as much suffering as possible, at every stage of his or her illness.

Right to personalized treatment

Everyone has the right to diagnostic or therapeutic programs that are as suitable as possible to their personal needs.

Right to complain

Every person has the right to complain whenever he has suffered damage and to receive a response.

Right to compensation

Everyone has the right to receive adequate compensation, within a reasonably short time, whenever he or she has suffered physical, moral or psychological harm caused by the health services.

The Responsibilities of the Patient and Their Family

The direct participation of the patient and their family members in the fulfillment of certain duties is the basis for fully enjoying the rights listed. Observing one's duties with commitment means respecting the social community and the health services enjoyed by all citizens. In particular, the patient must:

1. Adopt a responsible behavior at all times, with the willingness to collaborate with all hospital staff, respecting and understanding other patients.
2. Communicate with transparency and trust with doctors and health personnel, expressing any doubts about the proposed treatments, so as to actively promote the care relationship.
3. Communicate to doctors and health personnel any information regarding their state of health, useful for better prevention, diagnosis, therapy and assistance and necessary to protect the health of the staff who treat them (for example, provide a summary description of any previous diseases and therapies in progress, deliver any discharge letters and copies of medical records of previous hospitalizations, medical examinations and diagnostic tests already performed and the certificate specifying the blood group, the list of all drugs usually taken, etc.).
4. Express at the time of acceptance – through the forms that you will be invited to sign – your will about the persons authorized to receive information on your state of health.
5. Promptly inform doctors and health personnel of their intention to renounce, according to their will, planned health care and services, following internal procedures, in order to avoid wasting time and resources.
6. Follow the therapeutic and behavioral indications received, in order to facilitate the success of treatment and a peaceful stay at UPMC facilities.
7. Respect the rules that ensure the proper conduct of care and therapeutic activities.
8. Promptly inform doctors and healthcare professionals of changes in their address and contact details.

The patient and his family must have a respectful behavior towards people and things. Access to each UPMC facility implies that patients and their families have a predisposition to trust and respect for doctors and healthcare professionals, an indispensable prerequisite for setting up a correct therapeutic, care and rehabilitation program. It is important to behave responsibly and collaborate with doctors and health personnel, respecting and understanding the other guests of the facility. Therefore, it is good:

1. Avoid any behavior that may create disturbance or discomfort to other patients.
2. Adopt for reasons of decorum and respect for other patients appropriate clothing both inside and outside your room.
3. Respect the established visiting hours to allow the performance of normal care activities. Visits must not hinder medical activities or disturb the rest of other hospitalized patients. Visitors must behave appropriately to the place of hospitalization and care in which they are located and are required to leave the hospital room during medical examinations. In situations of particular need, after-hours visits and the presence of helping persons may be authorized. Authorized persons must comply with the rules of the facility and encourage collaboration with operators.
4. Respect the environments, equipment and furnishings that are located within the facility, considering the same heritage of all and, therefore, also their own.
5. Contribute to the maintenance of the hygiene of the facility, leaving the hospital room tidy, storing personal belongings in the appropriate drawers and avoiding keeping objects that are not strictly necessary that could be the cause of possible infections.
6. Respect the smoking ban and the limits of use of mobile phones within the departments, taking care of your personal belongings without leaving them unattended.
7. Move within the facility using the paths reserved for patients and visitors, directly reaching the locations of their interest.