Patient's bill of rights
You have the following rights. If someone is helping you make healthcare decisions, he or she may exercise these rights for you. For comments, complaints, or grievances or to report safety concerns, you can contact Compliance Alert Line at 1-800-350-0094.
- Quality care by skilled healthcare team and staff.
- Be treated for your pain.
- Treatment that is as comfortable as possible.
- Emergency procedures without unnecessary delays.
- Help decide the details of your plan of care.
- Ask for a second opinion, at your expense.
Safety – you have the right to:
- Safe care.
- Know when something goes wrong with your care.
- Have a family member or friend, as well as your doctor, notified promptly of your admission to the hospital.
- Be free from all forms of abuse and neglect.
- Be free from the use of restraints unless needed for safety.
Voice and choice – you have the right to:
- Get information in a manner you understand.
- Make informed decisions about your care.
- Refuse care.
- Make advance directives and have your medical wishes followed.
- Contact a person or agency to protect your rights.
- Have a support person with you for emotional support.
- Agree or refuse to allow pictures for purposes other than your care.
- Religious and other spiritual services that you choose.
- Complain without fear and have your complaints reviewed.
Privacy and access to medical information as described in Novant Health’s Notice of Privacy Practices.
Affordability – you have the right to:
- A detailed bill and an explanation of that bill.
- Information about resources to help pay for your healthcare.
Authentic personalized relationships – you have the right to:
- Know the names and jobs of the people who care for you.
- Be treated with respect and dignity.
- Treatment without discrimination.
- Respect for your culture, values, beliefs and preferences.
- Visitors of your choice. We will inform you of any restrictions.
- Personal privacy.
Easy for me – You have the right to:
- Sleep in the hospital without being awakened unless necessary.
- Know about rules that apply to your actions.
- Help in discharge planning from the hospital.
What is your role in your healthcare?
- Be an active partner in your healthcare.
- Ask questions.
- Keep appointments.
- Be respectful to other people and their property.
- Follow the facility’s rules.
- Follow your care instructions.
- Share as much health information with us as possible.
- Tell us about changes in your condition.
- Tell us when you are in pain.
- Give us a copy of your advance directive(s).
- Leave your valuables at home.
- Pay for your care.
For comments, complaints, grievances, or to report safety concerns, you may contact this Novant Health facility or call, toll-free 1-888-648-7999. After normal business hours, please leave a message and someone will return your call the next business day.
You also may lodge a grievance directly with the following:
North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation
Attention: Rita Horton
9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 401
2711 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-2711
800-624-3004 (toll free for NC residents)
919-855-4500 (local and outside NC)
The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
800-994-6610
Virginia Department of Health
Office of Licensure and Certification
9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 401
Richmond, VA 23233-1463
Toll Free: 1-800-955-1819 or
Metro Richmond area: (804) 367-2106
South Carolina
Department of Health and Environmental
Control
2600 Bull Street Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 898-3300
Patient privacy HIPAA
Promised protection for your confidential health information.
We have many ways of safeguarding your privacy – like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. This multi-faceted law improves a variety of service areas related to your treatment. Issues covered include health insurance, medical savings accounts, waste reduction, and more.
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that was signed into law on August 21, 1996, Public Law 104-191. This law impacts all areas of the healthcare industry and was designed to provide insurance portability, to improve the efficiency of healthcare by standardizing the exchange of administrative and financial data, and to protect the privacy, confidentiality and security of healthcare information. The law is designed to:
- Improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage
- Combat waste, fraud and abuse in health insurance and healthcare delivery
- Promote the use of medical savings accounts
- Improve access to long-term care services and coverage
- Simplify administration of health insurance and for other purposes. [H.R. 3103]
Health information disclosure
You can choose to authorize disclosure of your health or billing information to a third party.
You have the right to release your personal information
Under federal law, we can only release your personal health information to those directly involved in providing your care; however, you have the right to grant access to your personal medical or billing information to other individuals or organizations of your choice. If you choose to do so, we require a written authorization.
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All Services
Your doctor may recommend a breast biopsy to examine the growth more closely than possible with a mammogram. Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center offers stereotactic breast biopsy, an alternative to the traditional surgical biopsy. The procedure uses a special imaging technology to accurately target a questionable lesion, with significantly less pain and no scarring.
Fine needle aspiration of the breast is a procedure that is performed using a needle to draw out a small amount of cells or fluid from the breast. The area of concern is anesthetized before the procedure, with very little discomfort involved. It generally leaves no scar and is considered a simple office procedure, performed using ultrasound guidance.
A ductogram is performed to help us better understand the causes of nipple discharge and to detect possible problems with your breast ducts. If your doctor has referred you for a ductogram, please call 704-210-7762 to schedule your appointment today.
A procedure, called sentinel node biopsy, is used to determine if cancer cells have spread to the lymph nodes. This surgical procedure may be performed during the initial diagnostic period to aid in staging of the breast cancer. This procedure involves injecting a dye and/or radioactive substance near the tumor. This injection helps to locate the lymph node closest to the tumor (sentinel node) - the one that is most likely to have cancer cells present if the cancer has spread. The surgeon removes the lymph node that absorbs the dye and radioactive substance and sends it to the pathologist to examine it closely for the presence of cancer cells.
This is an alternative to a more invasive surgical biopsy. The area of concern is anesthetized before the procedure. There is only mild discomfort and generally no scarring of the breasts. The breast is gently compressed for this procedure. The stereotactically guided breast biopsy uses computer technology that enables our radiologists to locate and obtain a sample of the precise center of the area in question. The procedure uses x-rays and a special biopsy needle.
This is an alternative to a more invasive surgical biopsy. The area of concern is anesthetized before the procedure. There is only mild discomfort and generally no scarring of the breasts. An ultrasound scan detects breast changes by sending high-frequency sound waves into the breast. The echo patterns from the sound waves are converted into an image of the breast's interior. The radiologist will insert the biopsy needle and remove samples of tissue, using the ultrasound for guidance.
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