The following is a checklist of the rights to which you are entitled to as a dental patient. By and large, a bill of patient rights is a mission statement that reflects the beliefs and goals of our practice with regards to our patients.

 

 

The patient has the right to:

 

▪ A dental home that provides the highest standard of comprehensive, considerate and respectful care, without regard to ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age or disability.

 

▪ Be treated with courtesy, respect, and the highest professional, ethical, and moral conduct by Dr. Merrick and his staff.

 

▪ Participate fully in all the decisions related to his/her care. 

 

▪ Receive complete information about your diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.  The patient is entitled to the opportunity to discuss and request information related to the specific procedures and/or treatments, the risks involved, and the medical reasonable alternatives and their accompanying risks and benefits.  Life threatening emergency care could be an exception.

 

▪ Make decisions about the plan of care prior to and during the course of treatment, to refuse a recommended treatment or plan of care to the extent permitted by law, and to be informed of the health consequences of this action.  In case of such refusal, the patient is entitled to other appropriate care and services that the dentist offers.

 

▪ Learn what your dentist regards as the optimal treatment plan for specific oral health care needs.

 

▪ Expect reasonable continuity of care.

 

▪ Receive a fee estimate for all treatment, and to ask whether and how your treatment plan can be scaled down to fit your financial and time needs.

 

▪ Refuse any treatment, including treatment that is already in progress.

 

▪ Treatment that will be completed in a timely and efficient manner.

 

▪ Prompt assistance in the case of a dental emergency.

 

▪ Receive an itemized bill and an explanation of all charges.

 

▪ Expect all appropriate infection and sterilization protocols to be followed.

 

▪ Be informed of the practice’s policies and practices that relate to patient care, treatment, and responsibilities.  The patient has the right to be informed of available resources for resolving disputes, grievances, and conflicts.

 

▪ Expect that all communications and records pertaining to his/her care will be treated as confidential, except in cases such as suspected abuse and public health hazards when reporting is permitted or required by law.  The patient has the right to expect that the provider will emphasize the confidentiality of information released to other parties entitled to review this information.  As per *HIPAA regulations, to confidentiality regarding your diagnosis and treatment, except when you agree to submit this information to others – such as insurance providers.

 

▪ Review the records pertaining to his/her medical care and to have the information explained or interpreted as necessary, except when restricted by law.  The patient has the right to request amendments to his/her record.

 

*(HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1996).  Learn more