Patient Rights

• The Patients' Rights Fresenius Medical Care South Africa (Pty) Ltd

The Right to be fully informed:

1- Patients at the dialysis centre are entitled to a full explanation of their rights and responsibilities as an ESRD patient.

2 - Patients are entitled to a full explanation of the services offered by the facility and of any charges for services which are not covered by the funder.

3 - Patients are entitled to a full explanation of their medical condition by their physician unless this is medically contra-indicated and so recorded in the medical record.

The Right to Quality Care:

4 - Each patient has the right to competent, high quality medical care delivered by trained and competent personnel.

5 - Each patient has the right to change, when feasible, their modality of therapy or dialysis facility, as advised by his or her physician.

6 - Each patient has the right to seek other medical opinions regarding modalities of treatment without jeopardy or prejudice to the patient’s current medical situation.

The Right to Participate in the Planning of Medical Care:

7 - Each patient is able to participate in the planning of his/her medical treatment.

8 - Each patient has the right to refuse to participate in the experimental research relating to his/her condition.

9 - Patients have the right to continue to dialyze at the dialysis centre and not be transferred or discharged against their will except in an emergency.

The Right to Respect & Dignity

10 - Each patient has the right to be treated with consideration, respect, and full recognition of his/her individuality and personal needs.

11 - The rights and responsibilities statement should be translated into the patient’s own language if possible.

The Right to Confidentiality

12 - Each patient has the right to the confidential handling of their medical records. Each patient has the right to refuse the release of medical records to individuals outside the centre, except in the case of their transfer to another dialysis centre by law.

The Right to a Grievance Mechanism

13 - All patients are encouraged to understand and exercise their rights and are to be assisted in their understanding when necessary.

14 - All patients have the right to voice concerns using the Kidney & Dialysis Centre’s Grievance Policy & Procedure without fear of discrimination or reprisal.

• Patients' Responsibilities

While it is understood that dialysis patients are entitled to certain rights, certain responsibilities have to complement these rights to ensure the provision of high quality care at the dialysis centre.

1- It is the responsibility of the patient to co-operate and comply with, to the best of his/her ability, diet, medication and dialysis regimen and for self-care between treatments.

2 - The responsibility lies with the patient to comply with the dialysis centre’s rules & regulations which have been developed and implemented to protect patients, and to ensure safety and afford quality care to all patients.

3 - The patient is responsible for becoming informed about his/ her treatment.

4 - It is the responsibility of the patient to arrive on time for a scheduled treatment, and to be appropriately dressed. In the event of the patient’s inability to keep an appointment, it is the responsibility of the patient to inform the dialysis centre as early as possible. If the patient is going to be late for a treatment he/she also needs to inform the centre as to how long he/she will take to arrive so that an alternative session can be planned if there is an available machine. The patient needs to understand the importance of arriving promptly for treatment as there are other patients waiting to be dialysed after each treatment. They need to understand that it is not healthy to have their dialysis time shortened because of arriving late for a treatment. Patients are advised to arrive 30 minutes prior to the session time in order to prevent them from arriving late.

5 - The patient has the responsibility to treat their doctor, dialysis staff and other patients with courtesy and respect.

6 - The patient is responsible for keeping the doctor and the dialysis staff informed about any changes in his/her condition since the last treatment.

7 - It is the responsibility of the patient to actively participate in the planning of his/her treatment.

The patient is responsible for providing pertinent funder information to the dialysis centre in order to prevent accounts from being rejected by the medical funders.

It is the responsibility of the patient to allow the sharing of funder information with third parties when required.

8 - It is the responsibility of the patient to provide his/her own transport.

9 - The patient is responsible for co-operating with the administration of diagnostic tests and medical examinations when deemed necessary by the doctor.

The patient alone is responsible for the consequences of refusing treatment. If the patient wishes to terminate treatment early, he/she is responsible for signing the “against medical advice” form.

10 - The patient is responsible for informing his/her doctor or health care provider if he/she does not fully understand these rights and responsibilities or his/her treatment regimen.