Mercy Iowa City heals and comforts the sick and works to improve the health of the community in the spirit of Jesus Christ and the Catholic tradition of the Sisters of Mercy. The values of respect, excellence, compassion, stewardship and collaboration guide the care, treatment, and services we provide in the acute inpatient, ambulatory, home, and community settings.
Mercy recognizes the autonomy of the people we serve by respecting their right to make decisions about care, treatment, and services.
Mercy respects, protects, and promotes patient rights.
- Informs the patient of his or her rights in all settings (including inpatient, outpatient, skilled nursing, hospice, and home health care) or when appropriate, the patient’s representative as allowed by law, of his or her rights, in advance of furnishing or discontinuing patient care whenever possible
- Treats the patient in a dignified and respectful manner that supports his or dignity
- The patients has the right to receive care in a safe setting
- Supports the patient’s right to be free from all forms of abuse or harassment
- Respects the patient’s right to and need for effective communication
- Respects the patient’s cultural and personal values, beliefs, and preferences
- Respects the patient’s right to personal privacy, including confidentiality of his or her clinical records
- Respects the patient’s right to access information contained in his or her clinical records within a reasonable time frame
- Respects the patient’s right to pain management
- Accommodates the patient’s right to religious and other spiritual services
- Allows the patient to access, request amendment to, and obtain information on disclosures of his or her health information, in accordance with law and regulation
- Provides a standardized notice, "An Important Message from Medicare" (IM), within two (2) days of admission and a copy of the IM within two (2) days of discharge to each Medicare beneficiary who is an inpatient
Mercy respects the patient’s right to receive information in a language or manner he or she (or the patient’s representative) understands.
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Provides information in a manner tailored to the patient’s age, language, and ability to understand
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Provides language interpretation and translation services, as necessary
- Communicates with the patient who has vision, speech, hearing, or cognitive impairments in a manner that meets the patient’s needs
Mercy respects the patient’s right to participate in decisions about his or her care, treatment, and services.
- Involves the patient in the development, implementation, and revision of his or her inpatient plan of care, outpatient treatment/care plan, discharge plan, and pain management plan
- Involves the patient in making decisions about his or her care, treatment, and services, including the right to have his or her family member or support person of his or her choice and his or her own doctor notified promptly of his or her admission to the hospital
- Provides the patient with written information about the right to refuse care, treatment, and services
- Respects the patient’s right to refuse care, treatment, and services, in accordance with law and regulation
- Respects the patient’s right to formulate advance directives and complies with these directives
- Involves a surrogate decision-maker when a patient is unable to make decisions about his or her care, treatment, and services
- Respects the surrogate decision-maker’s right to refuse care, treatment, and services on the patient’s behalf, in accordance with law and regulation
- Involves the patient’s family in care treatment, and services decisions to the extent permitted by the patient or surrogate decision-maker, in accordance with law and regulation
- Provides patient or surrogate decision-maker with the information about the outcomes of care, treatment, and services that the patient needs in order to participate in current and future health care decisions
- Informs the patient or surrogate decision-maker about unanticipated outcomes of care, treatment, and services (hospital or licensed independent practitioner responsible for patient’s care, treatment, and services)
Mercy honors the patient’s right to give or withhold informed consent.
Mercy honors the patient’s right to give or withhold informed consent to produce or use recordings, films, or other images of the patient for purposes other than his or her care.
Mercy protects the patient and respects his or her rights during research, investigation, and clinical trials.
Mercy respects the patient’s right to receive information about the individual(s) responsible for, as well as those providing, his or her care, treatment, and services.
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Informs the patient of the name of the doctor who has primary responsibility for his or her care, treatment or services
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Informs the patient of the name of the doctor(s), clinical psychologist(s) or other practitioner(s) who will provide his or her care, treatment, and services
Mercy addresses patient decisions about care, treatment, and services received at the end of life.
- Provides patients with written information about advance directives, forgoing or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, and withholding resuscitative services
- Provides patient with information upon admission about the extent to which the hospital is able, or unable, or unwilling to honor advance directives
- Documents whether or not the patient has an advance directive in order to inform staff and licensed independent practitioners who are involved in the patient’s care, treatment, and services
- Refers the patient to resources for assistance in formulating advance directives
- Honors the patient’s right to formulate or review and revise his or her advance directives
- Honors the patients advance directives, in accordance with law and regulation and the hospital’s capabilities
- Documents the patient’s wishes concerning organ donation when he or she makes such wishes known to the hospital or when required by the hospital’s policy, in accordance with law and regulation
- Honors the patient’s wishes concerning organ donation within the limits of the hospital’s capability and in accordance with law and regulation
- Honors patient’s right to access care, treatment, and services regardless of the existence or lack of an advance directive
Mercy respects the patient’s right to be free from neglect, exploitation, and verbal, mental, physical, and sexual abuse.
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Determines how it will protect the patient from neglect, exploitation, and abuse that could occur while the patient is receiving care, treatment, and services
- Evaluates all allegations, observations, and suspected cases of neglect, exploitation, and abuse that occur within the hospital
- Reports allegations, observations, and suspected cases of neglect, exploitation, and abuse to appropriate authorities based on its evaluation of the suspected events, or as required by law
Mercy addresses the patient’s right to an environment that preserves dignity and contributes to a positive self-image.
Mercy addresses the patient’s and his or her family’s right to have grievances reviewed by the hospital.
Mercy addresses the patient’s right to access protective and advocacy services.
Mercy respects the patient’s right to visitation privileges.
- Informs each patient (or support person, where appropriate) of his or her visitation rights, including any clinical restriction or limitation on such rights, when he or she is informed of his or her other rights under this section.
- Informs each patient (or support person, where appropriate) of the right, subject to his or her consent, to receive the visitors whom he or she designates, including, but not limited to, a spouse, a domestic partner (including a same sex domestic partner), another family member, or a friend, and his or her right to withdraw or deny such consent at any time.
- Does not restrict, limit, or otherwise deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability; and
- Ensures that all visitors enjoy full and equal visitation privileges consistent with patient preferences
- Notifies patient that Mercy reserves the right to limit visitors including, but not limited to the following:
- Any court order limiting or restraining contact
- Behavior presenting a direct risk or threat to the patient, hospital staff, or others in the immediate environment
- Behavior disruptive of the functioning of the patient care unit
- Reasonable limitations on the number of visitors at any one time
- Patient’s risk of infection by the visitor
- Visitor’s risk of infection by the patient
- Extraordinary protections because of a pandemic or infectious disease outbreak
- Patient’s need for privacy or rest
- Need for privacy or rest by another individual in the patient’s shared room
- Determination by a health care professional using his or her best clinical judgment that visitation is not appropriate
- Environment not conducive for visitation, such as the Operating Suite, Cardiovascular Lab, and other procedural areas
Mercy informs the patient about his or her responsibilities related to his or her care, treatment, and services.
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Defines the patient’s responsibilities, including but not limited to:
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Providing information
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Asking questions
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Following instructions
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Accepting consequences
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Following rules and regulations
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Showing respect and consideration
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Acknowledging when he or she does not understand the treatment course or care decision
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Meeting financial commitments
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Informs the patient about his or her responsibilities in accordance with its policy