Student Health Services

Patient Rights & Responsibilities

You have the right to communicate your thoughts about your health care to Student Health Services. You have the right to a fair, fast, and objective review of any complaint you may have against the health plan, doctors, other health care personnel, or the facility.

• Write an email to the patient advocate at shspatientadvocate@ucr.edu.

You have the right to a comfortable and considerate environment that respects your dignity.

All medical consultations, examinations, or procedures have the potential to be distressing to patients. Patients may find examinations involving the genitals or rectum in all individuals, or breasts in females particularly intrusive. Having trained health care professionals serve as chaperones during sensitive examinations or any time the patient, legal guardian, or provider requests assistance, protects both our patients and health care providers.

You have the right to be treated with respect, consideration, and dignity. You have a right to nondiscriminatory care from your doctors, other health care providers, and the Student Health Services staff regardless of your race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, or source of payment.

You have the right to privacy. Examinations, consultations, and treatment will be conducted in private.

You have the right to communicate with health care providers in confidence and to have any individually identifiable health care information about you protected. You must authorize any release of personal health information, except when required by law. You also have the right to review and to obtain a copy of your own medical record and to request amendments to your record.

• With very few exceptions, individually identifiable health care information can be used without written consent only for health purposes, including the provision of health care, payment for services, health promotion, disease management, and quality assurance.
• In addition, examples of legally permitted disclosures without written consent include medical or health care research for which an institutional review board has determined anonymous records will not suffice, investigation of health care fraud, and public health reporting.
• When disclosure occurs, no greater amount of information will be disclosed than is necessary to achieve the specific purpose of the disclosure.

You have the right to receive accurate, easily understood information to make informed decisions about your health care, health plan, care professionals, and facilities. This information will include:

• Health care: To the degree known, complete information concerning the diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and prognosis.
• Health plan: Covered benefits, cost-sharing, procedures for resolving complaints, and provider network composition.
• Health professionals: Education, board certification, recertification, and years of practice.
• Health care facilities: Services provided, patient satisfaction, procedures for resolving complaints, and campus benefits provided.

You have the right and responsibility to fully participate in all decisions related to your health care, except when contraindicated for health reasons. If you are unable to fully participate in treatment decisions, you have the right to be represented by parents, guardians, family members, or other conservators.

• Consistent with the informed consent process, you have the right to easily understood information and the opportunity to decide among treatment options, including the option of no treatment at all.
• You have the right to discuss all risks, benefits, and consequences of treatment or no treatment.
• You have the right to a discussion of the use of advance directives, living wills, and durable powers of attorney for health care — with your health care provider and your designated family members. You can download an advance health care directive information and form online.
• You can expect that your health care provider will abide by the decisions made by you and/or your designated representatives consistent with the informed consent process.

You have the right to ready access to easily understood information concerning your rights and responsibilities, the services available to you, after-hours and emergency care, fees, payment policies, and the credentials of the health care professionals. This information can be found through the following sources in the SHS office or website.

• University of California Student Health Insurance Plan (UCSHIP) brochures
• The Student Health Services brochures
• The Confidentiality Statement/Patient Rights and Responsibilities
• Student Health Services personnel

You have the right to choose your health care providers.

• You have the right to request the same practitioner for continuity of care.
• You have the right to change health care practitioners.
• You have the right to a second medical opinion before making a decision.

You have the right to accurate and clearly presented marketing and advertising information about your health plan, health care professionals, and health care services.