Right Of Choice In Heath Care

Since the early 1970s many hospitals have voluntarily adopted, as policy, various versions of the Patient Bill of Rights. It was not until 1989, however, that laws were enacted by the legislature declaring that, as a matter of public policy, acute care hospital patients had certain specific rights. The law also provided for a mechanism to enforce those rights. The newly passed bill and the administrative regulations that were promulgated under its authority came to be known as the Patient Bill of Rights.Right Of Choice In Heath Care

With the protection of legislation, the provisions of the regulation were designed to be overseen by a body external to the health system itself, in this case the State Department of Health and Senior Services. By way of explanation, the State Department of Health and Senior Services are not integrated with the structure of the various hospitals and health care systems in the state. It is an administrative agency, part of the executive branch of government, charged with, among other things the licensing and regulation of acute care hospitals in the state.