Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Patient Rights
As a patient, you have certain rights. Some are guaranteed by federal law, such as the right to get a copy of your medical records and the right to keep them private and secure. Many states have additional laws protecting patients. And some states, insurance plans, medical organizations, and health care facilities have their own patient bill of rights.
Some other examples of patient rights include:
- Being treated with respect
- Not being discriminated against in your medical care
- The right to refuse treatment
- The right of informed consent
Informed consent is an important patient right. It is a process in which your health care provider gives you the information you need to make decisions about your care. The types of care could be treatments, procedures, genetic testing, or clinical trials. The information should include the risks and benefits of the care, as well as details about your medical condition.
It's important that you understand everything before you give consent. Sometimes your provider will ask you to sign a form to give your consent. This is called written consent.
You have the right to change your mind about consent at any time.
There are different resources that can help you if you have a problem with your patient rights:
- Many hospitals have patient advocates. These are people who can help guide you through the health care system and make sure that your rights are protected.
- Your state may have resources to help you, such as: Your state may have an office (called an ombudsmen office) for problems with long term care.
- Your state's department of health may be able to help.
- States also have oversight agencies for insurance companies and various types of health care facilities and providers. These agencies make sure that these organizations and providers follow the rules so you can get quality care.
It sits within Health System and Personal Health Issues.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Patient Rights
4 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Evaluation of REACTS-IN, an Intervention to Improve Nutrition, Hygiene, and Sexual and Reproductive Health ServicesMcGill University
Research already completed
- Web-Based Advance Care Planning for Patients With Advanced CancerTri-Service General Hospital (TSGH)
- The Effect of Escape Room Game on Reproductive Health Knowledge and Gender Equality PerceptionKaramanoğlu Mehmetbey University
- Digital Storytelling-role Play for Ethical Behaviours to Protect Patient Rights and Ethical SensitivityGazi University
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Knowing Your Patient RightsAmerican Cancer Society
- Questions Are the AnswerAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- When Health Care Providers May Communicate about You with Your Family, Friends, or Others Involved in Your CareDepartment of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
Related Issues
- Are Clinical Trials Safe?National Cancer Institute
- Informed ConsentAmerican Cancer Society
- Patient rightsDepartment of Veterans Affairs
- Second Surgical OpinionsCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Informed ConsentNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Patient Rights. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Patient Rights, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.