Ohio Nursing Home Patient Bill of Rights

Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3721.13, nursing home patients have the right to:

• A safe and clean living environment;
• Be free from physical, verbal, mental, and emotional abuse, as well as the right to be treated at all times with courtesy, respect, and full recognition of dignity and individuality;
• Adequate and appropriate medical treatment and nursing care, without regard to considerations such as race, color, religion, national origin, age, or source of payment for care;
• Have all reasonable requests and inquiries responded to promptly;
• Have all bed sheets and clothes changed as the need arises, to ensure resident’s comfort and sanitation;
• Obtain the name and any specialty of any physician or other person responsible for the resident’s care or the coordination of care;
• Be assigned the staff physician of the resident’s choice, as well as the right to select as an attending physician a physician who is not on the staff of the home;
• Actively participate in decisions that affect the resident’s life, including communicating with physicians and staff; obtaining information concerning medical condition, prognosis, and treatment plan in understandable terms;
• full access to the resident’s medical record; and the right to give or withhold informed consent for treatment;
• Withhold payment for physician visitation if the physician did not visit the patient;
• Confidential treatment of personal and medical records, as well as the right to approve or refuse disclosure of such information;
• Privacy during examinations and treatment, as well as in the care of personal or bodily needs;
• Refuse to serve as a medical research subject;
• Be free of chemical and physical restraints;
• A pharmacist of the patient’s choosing and the right to medications and services at reasonable prices;
• Exercise all civil rights;
• At the patient’s expense, the right to educational, vocational, recreational, social, and habilitation programs;
• Consume reasonable amounts of alcoholic beverages and use tobacco at patient’s expense;
• Retire and rise on own schedule, pursuant to patient’s request;
• Observe religious obligations and activities, maintain individual and cultural identity, and participate in social and community groups;
• Private and restricted communication with family members, social workers, public officials and the patient’s attorney, including:
• Receive, send, and mail sealed, unopened correspondence;
• Reasonable access to telephones for private communication;
• Private visits at reasonable hours;
• Visitation from and to share a room with one’s spouse;
• Have closed doors and to not be opened without first knocking;
• Retain and use personal items, including clothing and reasonable amounts of possessions;
• Be fully informed of the basic rates charged by the home, as well as any additional fees or costs related to such services;
• Receive and review a monthly itemized bill;
• Refuse transfer or discharge from the home unless transfer is necessary;
• Receive reasonable notice of a room or roommate change, including full explanation for the change;
• Voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services.