Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Your Care. Your Voice. Your Rights.

At Panola Medical Center, we believe every patient deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect. Your health, comfort, safety, and well-being are at the heart of everything we do.

We are committed to providing a safe, supportive environment where you feel informed, valued, and involved in your healthcare decisions.

Understanding your rights and responsibilities helps us work together to provide the best possible care.

Your Rights as a Patient

As a patient at Panola Medical Center, you have the right to:

Respect, Dignity & Equal Treatment

Compassionate and Respectful Care: Be treated with dignity, kindness, and respect, and receive reasonable responses to your requests for assistance.
Equal Access to Care: Receive healthcare services without discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Personal Beliefs and Values: Have your cultural background, personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected throughout your care.
Spiritual Support: Receive reasonable accommodations for your religious and spiritual needs.
Privacy and Confidentiality: Have your personal privacy and health information protected and receive information about our privacy practices.

Communication & Involvement in Your Care

Clear Communication: Receive information about your health and treatment in language you can understand. Interpreter or translation services are available at no cost, along with communication assistance for patients with vision, hearing, speech, or cognitive impairments.
Informed Decisions: Receive understandable information about your proposed care, including its benefits, risks, potential side effects, expected outcomes, recovery considerations, and reasonable alternatives.
Participation in Your Care: Be actively involved in decisions about your treatment, care plan, and discharge planning.
Care Team Information: Know the names of the healthcare professionals responsible for your care and treatment.
Family and Physician Notification: Have your family and personal physician promptly notified of your hospital admission.
The Right to Refuse Treatment: Accept or decline care, treatment, or services in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, including choosing to leave the hospital against medical advice.
Advance Directives: Create, review, or update advance directives regarding your healthcare wishes, including end-of-life decisions, and have those wishes honored to the extent permitted by law and the hospital's capabilities.

Safety, Comfort & Protection

A Safe Environment: Receive care in an environment that supports your safety, personal dignity, and well-being.
Protection from Abuse: Be free from neglect, exploitation, and verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.
Freedom from Unnecessary Restraints: Be free from restraints or seclusion used for convenience, discipline, coercion, or retaliation. When necessary for safety, the least restrictive appropriate measures will be used.
Access to Support: Request information about available patient advocacy and protective services.

Personal Choices & Privacy

Medical Records: Access your health information, request corrections, and obtain information about disclosures of your records within a reasonable timeframe, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Photography and Recordings: Give or withhold informed consent before photographs, video recordings, or other images are taken for purposes unrelated to your medical care.
Research Participation: Choose whether to participate in research studies, investigations, or clinical trials without affecting your access to healthcare services unrelated to that research.
Visitors and Loved Ones: Choose who may visit you, including a spouse, domestic partner, family member, or friend. You may decline or withdraw permission for any visitor at any time. When visitation restrictions apply, you may establish preferences or priorities for your visitors within those limitations.

Financial Information

Understanding Your Bill: Review and receive an explanation of your medical bills and charges, regardless of how your healthcare services are paid for.

Your Responsibilities as a Patient

Providing excellent healthcare is a partnership between you and your care team. To help us provide safe, effective, and personalized care, we kindly ask that you:

Share Accurate Health Information: Provide complete and accurate information about your current health, medical history, previous hospitalizations, medications, and other information that may affect your care.
Ask Questions: Let your healthcare team know if you have questions or do not fully understand your diagnosis, treatment options, or care plan. We want you to feel confident and informed about your healthcare.
Participate in Your Care: Follow the treatment instructions provided by your healthcare team and communicate any concerns or difficulties you may experience.
Be Respectful of Others: Follow hospital policies and guidelines while showing consideration for fellow patients, visitors, staff, and hospital property.

We're Here for You!

At Panola Medical Center, your trust means everything to us. We are dedicated to creating an environment where every patient feels safe, heard, respected, and supported.

If you have questions about your rights or responsibilities, please speak with a member of your healthcare team. We're always happy to help.

Thank you for trusting Panola Medical Center with your care!