In order to create a partnership that will improve your care, we ask that you give careful consideration to your responsibilities as follows:
- Obligation to know rights -The patient shall ensure that he/she knows and understands his/her rights and shall exercise those rights responsibly and reasonably.
- Obligation to provide adequate, accurate, and complete information– the Patient have the responsibility to provide truthful, to the best of their knowledge, adequate, accurate, and complete information related to his/her health like past and present illnesses, medications, and hospitalizations to his/her health provider.
- Obligation to Report unexpected Health Changes- it shall be the duty of every patient to report any changes to his/her condition or symptoms, including pain, to a member of the health care team.
- Obligation to Understand Purpose and Cost of Treatment – The patient shall ensure that he/ she understands the purpose and cost of any proposed treatment or procedure before deciding to accept it. He/ she shall notify the health care provider or practitioner if he/ she does not understand any information about his/ her care or treatment. The patient shall insist upon explanation until adequately informed and consult with all relevant persons before reaching a decision.
- Obligation to Accept Consequences of Own Informed Consent – the patient shall accept all the consequences of his/her decisions. If he/ she refuses treatment or do not follow the instructions or advice of the health care provider or practitioner, he/ she must accept the consequences of his/ her decision. He is obligated to forever free the physician of liability in his exercise of his right to self-determination.
- Obligation to Settle Financial Obligations – the patient shall ensure that financial obligations of his/ her health care fulfilled as promptly as possible, otherwise he/ she shall make appropriate arrangements to settle unpaid bills in the hospital and/ or professional fees of the health care provider. Failure is considered estafa. Patients must seek support from the national and local government to provide a system of payment to health workers and facilities.
- Obligation to Respect the Rights of Health Care Providers – Patients are required to give due respect to the rights of health care providers most especially their human rights. He is under obligation that his actions must be considerate, cooperative and must never infringe on the rights and property of the health care provider.
- Obligation to Respect the Rights of Health Institutions – The patients are required to give due respect to the rights of health care provider institutions and must never infringe upon their rights. This includes the obligation to know and follow the health institution’s policies, rules, and regulations. Patients are enjoined to help keep the hospital clean and orderly.
- Obligation to Respect the Rights of Other Patients – the patient is obligated to conduct himself/ herself in harmony with, respect to and must not interfere with the rights and property of other patients.
- Obligation to Self – the patient is obligated to maintain a state of wellness.
- Obligation to Have Adequate Health Information and Actively Participate in His Treatment – The patient is obligated to know the basic health information. This adequate knowledge is subsumed when a patient signs an informed consent. Patients are obligated to actively obtain the necessary information to enable him to actively participate in the formulation of his diagnostic and treatment plans.
- Obligation to Respect the Right to Privacy of Health Workers and Institutions. – Patients have the obligation to address grievances to the proper authorities or venue and not resort to unwarranted publicity in the media. Patients shall not disclose to the public any alleged complaint against health provider and institution not fully decided by a court or administrative tribunal or proper jurisdiction.
- Obligation to Exercise Fidelity on Privileged Communication – A patient-physician relationship is a fiduciary one where mutual trust, respect, and confidence is executed. All communications are privileged and the patient is obligated not to breach this privileged communication especially if it involved a third party.
- Obligation Not to Force Physician to Treat Him/ Her – While patients have the right to choose their physicians, these patients are likewise obligated to respect the physician’s decision to choose whom he is going to serve or to treat.
- Obligation to Respect the Physician’s Decision on Medical Reasons on His Right to Religious Beliefs – Patients are obligated to respect and obey the health care provider’s decision on matters referable to medical reasons on his children not yet of legal age but whose lives and health are affected by the parents’ rights to religious belief. Patients are obligated to respect the physician’s religious beliefs.
- Obligation to Medical Records – Patients are obligated to ensure the integrity and authenticity of his medical records. Any attempt to alter his records is a criminal offense subject to the provisions to this bill and to the Revised Penal Code.
- Obligation to Participate in the Training of Competent Future Physicians – Training of competent future physicians is a necessary development in the health care delivery system of the country. Patients are, therefore, obligated to participate in the training of these future health workers provided the necessary information are provided him and the necessary ethical considerations employed.
- Obligation to Inform – patients are obligated to inform the health worker to any perceived or alleged infraction of his rights by the health worker or institution through proper channels. This is to provide a system of immediate rectification to promote mutual trust, respect and confidence between the doctor and patient.
- Obligation to Use Process and Exhaust Grievance Mechanisms – all grievances of patients must be coursed through proper channels and process. The patient shall exhaust the grievance mechanism provided in this Act before filing any administrative or legal action.