Patient Rights and Responsibilities

You have many rights and responsibilities as our patient.

Your rights embrace:

  • Your medical care
  • Decision-making and your directives
  • Your election to allow experimental treatments
  • Your personal needs
  • Your contacts and communications
  • Your medical records
  • Your bill
  • Your discharge planning
  • The manner in which problems are resolved

We invite you to read a brochure that lists your rights and responsibilities as a patient.

The Role of the Patient Relations Specialist

We train our staff to listen to patient concerns and the concerns voiced by family members or visitors. Then, they are to follow through with a thorough review and provide a response that describes how the issues were reviewed and actions that were taken to resolve them.

To share a concern or complaint, please contact any staff member or contact the Office of The Patient Experience at 1-319-356-1802, or 6-1802 from a hospital phone, by email at [email protected], or by mail to:

Office of The Patient Experience

Medical Center on the University Campus

200 Hawkins Drive

CC102 General Hospital (GH)

Iowa City, IA 52242  

Patients who express a concern, complaint, or grievance, will not have their future access to care compromised in any way.

If you have a further concern about the quality of your care, you may contact the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals in Des Moines at 1-515-281-4115.

If you feel your concern about safety or quality of care provided in the hospital has not been adequately addressed, you may also report your concern to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Call 1-800-994-6610 or e-mail [email protected].

Information about your health and care is protected by a body of federal regulations referred to as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). HIPAA policies give you more control over who can see your private medical information. They also describe what health care providers can and can not do related to your protected health information.