Patient Rights

As a patient at KKESH, you have the right to do the following:

⦁    Refuse to see anyone (including visitors) not officially connected with your direct care or treatment.

⦁    Be interviewed and examined in surroundings that assure reasonable privacy.

⦁    Have any discussion or consultation involving your case conducted discreetly (i.e. without certain individuals whom you do not wish to be present).

⦁    Have a companion present with you during your physical or ophthalmic examination.

⦁    Give permission to any individual not directly involved in your care to be present during your examination and diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.

⦁    Know the name and qualifications of the individuals involved in your care.

⦁    Expect all consultations, records, and information pertaining to your medical condition or financial affairs to be treated as confidential.

⦁    Receive complete information about the diagnosis, prognosis, and proposed treatment of your case.

⦁    Be informed of benefits, risks, methods, and therapeutic alternatives for surgical and diagnostic procedures, and have your questions answered prior to being requested to sign a consent form; (An exception is made in emergency situations where delay caused by such an explanation may jeopardize your health or lead to the loss of vision.)

⦁    Request a second opinion from another qualified consultant regarding your condition in the event of unsatisfactory progress or transfer to another qualified consultant, if irreconcilable conflicts arise with the assigned attending physician.

⦁    Have information provided in language and terms that you can understand, and request an interpreter if you do not speak English.

⦁    Accept or refuse participation in clinical research upon receiving full information on the procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives.

⦁    Be advised of the identity of other healthcare or educational institutions that have a relationship with the hospital, and social welfare facilities offering their services to patients.

⦁    Refuse treatment to the extent permitted by the law; (If you refuse treatment, your doctor will inform you about all harmful effects that might result from your refusal of treatment, and you may be requested to sign a statement that you have been made aware of such risks).

⦁    Have your requests or concerns regarding Islamic religious values and beliefs referred to the Religious Awareness Office.

⦁    Expect reasonable personal safety, insofar as the hospital practices and environment are concerned.

⦁    Receive visitors during normal visiting hours, unless your doctor believes this might endanger your health.

⦁    Receive mail and telephone calls, with access to an interpreter for such communication if needed.

⦁    Request a transfer to another room if you are unreasonably disturbed by another patient or visitor.

⦁    Be placed in protective privacy, if necessary, for personal safety.

⦁    Decline to participate in clinical training programs or in the gathering of data for research purposes.

⦁    Know the hospital's rules and regulations.

⦁    Request assistance of a social worker to explain what you need to know and to help you overcome any hardships, problems, and causes of concern pertaining to the hospital's rules and regulations.

⦁    Understand the reason for being referred to another facility or organization before such a decision has been made.

⦁    Be informed about your continuing healthcare requirements upon your discharge from the hospital.

⦁    Receive information about organ donation and applicable laws and regulations.

⦁    Present complaints or report conflicts, verbally or in writing, to the patients’ services office without compromising the treatment services provided.

⦁    Receive appropriate assessment and management of pain.