Patient Rights & Responsibilities

We want to encourage you, as a patient of Abbeville Area Medical Center or one of its Physician Network practices, to speak openly with your health care team, take part in your treatment choices, and promote your own safety by being well-informed and involved in your care. Because we want you to think of yourself as a partner in your care, we want you to know your rights as well as your responsibilities during your outpatient treatment at Abbeville Area Medical Center or its Physician Network practices. We invite you and your family to join us as active members of your health care team.
You have the right to:
Participate in decisions about your care, your treatment and services provided, including the right to refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law. You may include family and friends, with your permission, in these decisions. If you leave the hospital against the advice of your doctor, the hospital and doctors will not be responsible for any medical consequences that may occur.
Have a family member or person of your choice and your own doctor be notified promptly of your admission to the hospital.
Expect full consideration of your privacy and confidentiality in care discussions, exams and treatments. You may ask for an escort during any type of exam.
Receive care in a safe environment free from all forms of abuse, neglect or mistreatment.
Expect that all communications and records about your care are confidential, unless disclosure is permitted by law. You have the right to see or get a copy of your medical record. You may add information to your medical record by contacting the Medical Records Department. You have the right to request a list of people to whom your personal health information was disclosed.
Protection of your Privacy. We respect the confidentiality of your relationship with your doctor and caregivers, and the sensitive information about your health and health care that are part of that relationship. State and federal laws and hospital operating policies protect the privacy of your medical information. You will receive a Notice of Privacy Practices that describes the ways that we use, disclose and safeguard patient information. If you have any questions or would like a copy of AAMC’s HIPAA Privacy Notice, please contact the Privacy Officer at 864-366-3313.
Make an advance directive and appoint someone to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to do so. If you have signed a health care power of attorney stating who should speak for you if you become unable to make health care decisions for yourself, or a “living will” or “advance directive” that states your wishes about end-of-life care, give copies to your doctor, your family and your care team. If you or your family need help making difficult decisions, counselors, chaplains and others are available to help. If you do not have an advance directive, we can provide you with the information and help you complete one.  
Communication you can understand. The hospital and its physician clinics will provide sign language and foreign language interpreters as needed at no cost. Information given will be appropriate to your age, understanding and language. If you have vision, speech, hearing and/or other impairments, you will receive additional aids to ensure that your care needs are met. To request these services, please speak with your caregiver.
Give or refuse consent for recordings, photographs, films or other images to be produced or used for internal or external purposes other than identification, diagnosis or treatment. You have the right to withdraw consent up until a reasonable time before the item is used.
Involvement in your care. You and your doctor often make decisions about your care before you go to the hospital. Other times, especially in emergencies, those decisions are made during your hospital stay. When decision-making takes place, it should include:
Discussing your medical condition and information about medically appropriate treatment choices. To make informed decisions with your doctor, you need to understand:

• The benefits and risks of each treatment.
• Whether your treatment is experimental or part of a research study.
• What you can reasonably expect from your treatment and any long-term effects it might have on your quality of life.
• What you and your family will need to do after you leave the hospital.
• The financial consequences of using uncovered services or out-of-network providers.

Please tell your caregivers if you need more information about treatment choices.
Getting information from you. Your caregivers need complete and correct information about your health, medications and coverage so that they can make good decisions about your care. That includes:

• Past illnesses, surgeries or hospital stays.
• Past allergic reactions.
• Any medicines or dietary supplements (such as vitamins and herbs) that you are taking.
• Any network or admission requirements under your health plan.
• Be free of restraints and seclusion in any form that is not medically required.

Understand our visiting hours. Your care partner or family member is welcome 24 hours a day. Others are welcome from 8:00am to 8:00pm if they don’t have a cough, fever or sore throat. But if you’re not up to company, let your health care partner or nurse known. Visiting hours for the ED may be different depending on the patient’s health status.

If you are classified as an Inpatient, Inpatient Tele, Outpatient observation, outpatient Observation Tele, Inpatient ICU, or Outpatient Surgery (overnight stay) you will be given a Patient and Family Handbook that will include your “Rights and Responsibilities” as well as additional helpful information.

Voice your concerns about your care and experience. At Abbeville Area Medical Center and our Physician Network practices, we are continuously working to improve our service to patients. An important part of this service is the way you feel you are treated by our staff members, volunteers and physicians. It is important that we hear about any concerns while you are in the hospital, physician clinics, or under care by our home health agency, Health Related Home Care. Please do not feel uncomfortable raising these concerns. We are committed to making sure that you receive compassionate, quality care. If there is anything we can do to improve the services we are providing, please talk with our staff.
For many concerns, it’s usually best to first speak with the people caring for you. This would probably be your nurse, hospital case manager, or office staff. If you don’t feel that they are helping you, please ask to speak to the supervisor, manager or director. If you still are unsatisfied with the resolve to your concern, you may file a grievance with the hospital. The hospital will review, investigate and resolve the grievance in a reasonable amount of time-generally 10 days from the time it is received. The hospital will respond to you in writing, in an easy to understand manner. The letter should tell you the steps that have been taken on your behalf to investigate the grievance, the results, and a contact person. You, or the hospital personnel, may also want to meet in person to talk about what happened.

AAMC contact person for grievances:
Mary Margaret Jackson, 864-366-3279
PO Box 887
Abbeville, SC 29620

A grievance is considered closed when you are satisfied with the actions taken by the hospital. There may be times, however, when the hospital feels it has taken reasonable steps to address your concern, but you are still unsatisfied. That’s when you may consider filing your concern with a hospital oversight organization-the next step below.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) licenses and certifies South Carolina hospitals. This means that the hospitals must meet certain rules and regulations to care for patients and receive payment. One function of DHEC is to investigate complaints about any facility they license.