Terms Of Service
At CMF Surgeons we support your right to know about your health and illness, and your right to participate in decisions that affect your well-being. In Massachusetts, there is a law designed to help protect the rights of patients in healthcare facilities.
(Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 111, Section 70E).
Your Rights
- To receive medical care that meets the highest standards of CMF Surgeons, regardless of your race, religion, national origin, any disability or handicap, gender, sexual orientation, military service, or the source of payment for your care.
- To receive care that is considerate of your culture and respectful of your personal beliefs and preferences.
- To be involved in your plan of care including taking part in decisions relating to your health care requests and or refusals for treatment and services.
- To privacy during medical treatment or any other rendering of care and treatment within the hospital’s capacity.
- To have all reasonable requests responded to promptly and adequately within the capacity of CMF Surgeons.
- Upon request, to obtain from CMF Surgeons the name and specialty, if any, of the physician or other person responsible for your care or the coordination of that care.
- To make an informed decision regarding the care you will receive including the right for you or your representative to receive information prior to treatment including information about your health status, risks, benefits, potential complications, and alternatives, before consenting to or refusing treatment and to be informed in advance before furnishing or discontinuation of care, whenever possible.
- The right to have a family member or representative of your choice and your own physician promptly notified of any emergencies while you are undergoing care at CMF Surgeons.
- To be informed at your initial evaluation that pain relief is an important part of your care, that your caregivers will respond quickly to reports of pain, work with you to establish goals for pain prevention and relief, as well as develop and implement a plan to achieve those goals.
- Upon request, to obtain an explanation as to the relationship, if any, of CMF Surgeons or your physician to any other healthcare facility or educational institution insofar as said relationship relates to your care or treatment.
- Upon request, to obtain a copy of any facility rules or regulations which apply to your conduct as a patient.
- Upon request, to receive a copy of the bill or other statement of charges submitted to any third party by CMF Surgeons for your care.
- To inquire and receive information about the possibility of financial aid. For inquiries related to financial aid, please contact our office at 617-286-5780.
- To confidentiality of all records and communications to the extent provided by law.
- Upon request, to access the information contained in your medical records and to receive a copy thereof within a reasonable time frame as quickly as the hospital record-keeping system permits, in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 111, Section 70E.
- To refuse to be examined, observed, or treated by students or any other CMF Surgeons staff without jeopardizing access to psychiatric, psychological, or other medical care and attention.
- To refuse to serve as a research subject and to refuse any care or examination when the primary purpose is educational or informational rather than therapeutic.
- To prompt lifesaving treatment in an emergency without discriminating on account of economic status or source of payment and without delaying treatment for purposes of prior discussion of the source of payment unless such delay can be imposed without material risk to health.
- To participate in consideration of ethical questions that arise in the course of care including conflict resolution, withholding resuscitative services, and forgoing or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments.
- To access protective services.
- To receive information tailored to your age, language, and ability to understand. If you are a patient with limited English proficiency, CMF Surgeons will provide access to meaningful communication via a qualified interpreter service provided either in person or via telephone. If you are a patient who is deaf or hard of hearing, CMF Surgeons will request a certified interpreter from the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
- To receive information about how you can get assistance with concerns and complaints about the quality of care or service you receive, and to initiate a formal grievance process with the facility or other state or regulatory agencies.
- To receive care in a safe setting within the facility.
- To formulate advance directives and to have facility staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital comply with these directives.
Any person whose rights under this section are violated may bring, in addition to any other action allowed by law or regulation, a civil action under Sections 60B to 60E, inclusive, of Chapter 231. Any person whose rights under this section are violated may file a grievance by contacting the facilities Director at 617-286-5780 ext. 1007 or the following state regulatory agencies, Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, US Department of Health and Human Services.
