Rights and Responsibilities How Do the Rights

Rights and Responsibilities

How do the rights and responsibilities of patients differ from the rights and responsibilities of employees? How are they similar?

Until recently, patient responsibilities were seldom directly 'spelled out' in the American healthcare system. This changed with the passage of HIPAA in 1996. HIPPA "sets forth policies and standards for how patient information, including doctors' notes, medical test results, lab reports, and billing information may be shared" (Torrey, 2012, HIPPA). It gives patients the right to access their information and demands that patient data be treated in a secure fashion. Also under the law, patients have a right to informed consent over the procedures they undergo, so that they or a designated caregiver can make decisions about what they perceive to be their best interests. Ultimately, the healthcare system must serve the needs of patients, not physicians and other healthcare employees. That is why patients must give consent if, for example, they are participating in an experimental drug trial that might not directly benefit them but only benefit patients with their condition later on. In general, physicians cannot make decisions about patient health with the greater good of society in mind or their own personal values if it compromises the safety of the patient in their care.

However, the question of the ability to refuse treatment based upon one's personal beliefs is still being debated within the healthcare system. Some "physicians and pharmacists who now adhere to a controversial belief that birth control pills and other forms of hormonal contraception" can be refused, based upon their religious beliefs, along with abortions (Bollinger 2011). While physicians may refuse to perform procedures if they think it is against the interest of the patients' health, "lawmakers in Arkansas, South Dakota, and most recently Mississippi to enact 'conscience clauses.' These legislative provisions protect health care professionals -- in this case, pharmacists -- who refuse to provide services they oppose on moral, ethical, or legal grounds" (Bollinger 2011).

While these bills regarding healthcare providers' rights are controversial, some rights of healthcare employees are widely agreed-upon within the medical community. Employees have the right to be compensated for their work in a timely fashion, to receive adequate benefits, and not to be discriminated against because of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. This parallels the fact that healthcare providers "may not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other nationally recognized as discrimination" in treating patients (Torrey, 2012, Can a doctor fire a patient). Healthcare providers, like patients, also have the right to expect that their safety is protected to the maximum degree possible. Although they may encounter some risks, particularly during catastrophic events when not all aspects of the event can be planned for, the healthcare organization in question should strive to ensure that employee safety is protected to the maximum degree with gloves, masks, and, if treating a dangerous patient, protection. Employee should also not, except in the case of extreme emergencies, be asked to treat patients whom they are not qualified to treat if the treatment required is outside of their framework of knowledge.