Which mental health patient rights are important for the nurse to maintain?

Nurses play a critical role in protecting patient rights. Nurses’ codes of ethics establish their obligation to protect patient rights, and nurse leaders in particular are in a unique position to help ensure that patient rights are respected. Nurses who pursue online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs need to honor their obligation to protect patient rights and keep those rights in mind as they move into leadership roles.

What Are Patient Rights in Health Care?

The full scope of patient rights encompasses rights that various sources have set forth. Some of the most prominent sources are discussed below:

American Medical Association

The American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Medical Ethics Opinion 1.1.3 lists a number of patient rights. Examples are a patient’s right to:

  • Ask questions about treatment and health
  • Be treated by medical staff who respect patient confidentiality and privacy
  • Be treated with dignity, respect, and courtesy
  • Discuss with doctors the costs, risks, and benefits of different treatments
  • Get a second opinion
  • Make decisions about health care

HIPAA

HIPAA specifies certain health information privacy rights, such as patients’ rights to:

  • Be advised about how information regarding their health is used and shared
  • Inform health care providers and insurers about certain information that patients don’t want to be shared
  • Obtain a copy of their medical record and other health-related information
  • Request that incorrect information in their health records be corrected or that missing information be added

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act specifies a number of patient rights, such as the right to:

  • Have health insurance that covers preexisting conditions and provides free preventive care
  • Have no lifetime or annual dollar maximums on insurance coverage for essential health benefits
  • Obtain understandable information on health insurance coverage

State Laws Regarding Patient Rights

Several states have passed laws to protect patient rights. New York, Michigan, and Illinois are just a few states that have codified the rights in state law. Many health care providers also publicize their own lists of patient rights. For example, providers such as the Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, and Cedars-Sinai have published their patient privacy rights on their websites.

The Connection Between Patient Rights and Nursing Ethics

The strong connection between patient rights and nurses’ codes of ethics reinforces the critical role nurses play in protecting patient rights. Their obligation to uphold their ethics places nurses in a unique position to help ensure that patient rights are respected.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics for Nurses contains several provisions that have a direct connection to patient rights. For example:

  • Provision 1. Nurses are obligated to respect human dignity, establish relationships of trust with patients, actively participate in responsible interventions, and respect patients’ rights regarding self-determination.
  • Provision 2. Nurses’ primary commitment is to patients, and the provision requires nurses to ensure that care plans respect patients’ dignity.
  • Provision 3. Nurses are required to promote and advocate for patients’ safety, health, and rights. The provision also outlines nurses’ obligation to protect patient privacy and confidentiality. In addition, it requires nurses to take appropriate action on questionable practices and protect patients from potential harm.
  • Provision 8. Nurses are obligated to collaborate with health professionals to protect human rights.

Strategies for Nurses to Promote Patient Rights

Particularly when nurses are in leadership roles they can work toward implementing strategies to promote patient rights. Examples of the strategies are:

Providing Nursing Ethics Education and Training

A 2020 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health suggested educational approaches, such as providing ethics education and training in small groups, using a case-centered approach, and discussing actual experiences during clinical practice.

Establishing an Ethics Program

Information services firm Wolters Kluwer has identified certain best practices for ethical nursing leadership. Those best practices suggest that nurse leaders work to establish ethics programs to help ensure collaboration and enhanced decision-making that is in patients’ best interests.

Designating Ethics Champions

Wolters Kluwer’s best practices suggest designating ethics champions to promote nursing ethics and facilitate ethical decision-making. The champions can be nurses who receive specialized training in both medical ethics and ethical challenges in nursing.

Building Awareness of the Rights of Patients Involved in Research Projects

As patient participation in research projects grows, issues of privacy and confidentiality of patient data are also increasing. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics suggested that collaboration among all stakeholders (including nurses) was critical to protect patient privacy in clinical research.

Enhancing Shared Decision-Making Techniques

A 2020 article in American Nurse suggested that nurses can improve patients’ participation in shared decision-making regarding their health by doing things such as communicating with all parties involved in patient care to ensure that patients’ needs are expressed, assessing patients’ ability to participate in shared decision-making, and discussing the shared decision-making process with patients to identify process strengths and weaknesses.

Protecting Patient Rights: A Key Component of Any Nursing Career

Nurses clearly play a critical role in protecting patient rights. Nurses who have an interest in doing so as they move into leadership roles can explore Hawaiʻi Pacific University’s online Master of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice program to learn more about how the program can help them achieve their professional goals. Embark on a rewarding career helping patients receive optimal health care today.

Which interventions can the nurse perform in the mental health setting quizlet?

Which interventions can the nurse perform in the mental health setting? Inform patients of their rights while hospitalized. Informing patients of their rights is part of milieu management and is within the scope of the nurse. Prepare an education session to teach patients about their treatment modalities.

What is an example of patients rights quizlet?

Patients have the right to receive clear explanation of treatment options, participate in health care decisions and discontinue or refuse treatment.
Exceptions to Informed Consent Several exceptions to the requirement for informed consent include (1) the patient is incapacitated, (2) life-threatening emergencies with inadequate time to obtain consent, and (3) voluntary waived consent.

Which action would the nurse take to prevent excessive bruising when administering subcutaneous heparin?

Accordingly, clinical nurses are suggested to use cold packs to reduce the occurrence and size of bruising associated with subcutaneous heparin injection.