[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 42, Volume 2]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 42CFR403.730]

[Page 62]
 
                         TITLE 42--PUBLIC HEALTH
 
                             HUMAN SERVICES
 
PART 403_SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS--Table of Contents
 
   Subpart G_Religious Nonmedical Health Care Institutions_Benefits, 
                Conditions of Participation, and Payment
 
Sec.  403.730  Condition of participation: Patient rights.

    An RNHCI must protect and promote each patient's rights.
    (a) Standard: Notice of rights. The RNHCI must do the following:
    (1) Inform each patient of his or her rights in advance of 
furnishing patient care.
    (2) Have a process for prompt resolution of grievances, including a 
specific person within the facility whom a patient may contact to file a 
grievance. In addition, the facility must provide patients with 
information about the facility's process as well as with contact 
information for appropriate State and Federal resources.
    (b) Standard: Exercise of rights. The patient has the right to:
    (1) Be informed of his or her rights and to participate in the 
development and implementation of his or her plan of care.
    (2) Make decisions regarding his or her care, including transfer and 
discharge from the RNHCI. (See Sec.  403.736 for discharge and transfer 
requirements.)
    (3) Formulate advance directives and expect staff who furnish care 
in the RNHCI to comply with those directives, in accordance with part 
489, subpart I of this chapter. For purposes of conforming with the 
requirement in Sec.  489.102 that there be documentation in the 
patient's medical records concerning advanced directives, the patient 
care records of a beneficiary in an RNHCI are equivalent to medical 
records held by other providers.
    (c) Standard: Privacy and safety. The patient has the right to the 
following:
    (1) Personal privacy.
    (2) Care in a safe setting.
    (3) Freedom from verbal, psychological, and physical abuse, and 
misappropriation of property.
    (4) Freedom from the use of restraints.
    (5) Freedom from involuntary seclusion.
    (d) Standard: Confidentiality of patient records. For any patient 
care records or election information it maintains on patients, the RNHCI 
must establish procedures to do the following:
    (1) Safeguard the privacy of any information that identifies a 
particular patient. Information from, or copies of, records may be 
released only to authorized individuals, and the RNHCI must ensure that 
unauthorized individuals cannot gain access to or alter patient records. 
Original patient care records must be released only in accordance with 
Federal or State laws, court orders, or subpoenas.
    (2) Maintain the records and information in an accurate and timely 
manner.
    (3) Ensure timely access by patients to the records and other 
information that pertains to that patient.
    (4) Abide by all Federal and State laws regarding confidentiality 
and disclosure for patient care records and election information.