CONSUMER RIGHTS HANDBOOK

Transcription

1 CONSUMER RIGHTS HANDBOOK Your Rights and the Rights of Your Child Hawaii Behavioral Health 210 Ward Avenue Suite #219 Honolulu, Hawaii Phone: Fax:

2 ABOUT OUR PROGRAM The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division (CAMHD) of the Department of Health provides mental health services for children and adolescents in the State of Hawaii. These of these services are provided directly by our own HBH employees. We hire psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and other professionals to make sure that your child receives the best possible care. HBH provides various out-patient services. CAMHD carefully monitors the work of these programs and seeks to ensure that they are providing quality services which are consistent with our guidelines. The purpose of this booklet is to inform you about the rights you have as a parent of a child who is receiving services. In addition, this booklet will inform you about the rights your child has when treatment is provided. This booklet will also give you information about how to report a complaint and how the grievance process works. YOUR RIGHTS ABOUT TREATMENT Treatment means activities intended to reduce or relieve the effects of mental illness or emotional distress. Before receiving voluntary treatment, you have the right to be told about: The proposed treatment, and what may happen if your condition is not treated. The benefits and risks of the treatment; and Other available forms of treatment. You have the right to an individual recovery plan and to help decide what treatment and services you will receive. You have the right to ask questions and receive answers about the proposed treatment and to agree to or refuse the proposed treatment. If you agree to the proposed treatment, we will ask you to sign a "Consent to Treatment Form." This gives us written approval to provide you with treatment services. You have the right to have a staff person explain in a language you understand what you are signing. Please be sure to read this form carefully and ask the treatment team staff any questions you may have before signing it. If you have a guardian who makes treatment decisions for you, your guardian has the right to agree to or refuse the proposed treatment. You have the right to change your mind. This means that you can choose to turn down or refuse services. However, if you are under a court order and you decide not to continue services, we must notify the court. You must be told about and agree to any significant changes to the course of treatment. You have the right to help decide what form of treatment is best for you or your child. 2

3 YOUR RIGHTS ABOUT YOUR CLINICAL RECORD You have the right to have a clinical record kept by Hawaii Behavioral Health. You also have the right to read your clinical record in the presence of a staff member, and to have that staff member help you understand it. If the program administrator believes your record contains information considered harmful to you or others, we may withhold this information. You have the right to be told why information was withheld and how to appeal this decision if you choose to do so. An appeal is a formal request to have another person or group review this decision and come up with a second conclusion. A different decision at the appeals level cancels the original decision made by the program administrator. If, after reading your clinical record, you believe the record contains incorrect information, you can write a letter to the program director, saying what information you think is not correct. You have the right to be told whether or not we made the corrections in your record. You may request a copy of your record or provide us with written consent to release your record to another party. You may be charged a fee for photocopying. YOUR RIGHTS TO CONFIDENTIALITY Hawaii Behavioral Health is dedicated to protecting the privacy rights of all of its clients. You have the right to have information about you kept confidential. It is very important to us that your child s medical records and information about your treatment remain confidential. However, the law permits confidentiality to be broken under the following situations 1.In a life-threatening emergency affecting you; 2.If you are suspected of abusing or neglecting a minor, or if there is suspicion that someone is abusing you; 3.If a court properly orders a release of information. Also, we may share information about you in the following situations: 1. For monitoring purposes, to authorize monitors; 2. When required by federal and state laws; 3. If you (or your guardian, if one is appointed) gives written permission to share certain kinds of information with certain people or agencies. The written permission is an Informed Consent to Release Information. You or your guardian also have the right to change your mind about sharing this information. 3

4 YOUR RIGHTS TO BE FREE FROM UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION In every aspect of treatment and care, you should always be treated fairly. No One Should Unlawfully Discriminate Against You Because Of: 1. A physical or mental disability; 2. Your race, color or national origin; 3. Your age, sex, sexual orientation or marital status; 4. Your religion; 5. Any difficulty in speaking or understanding English. If you believe you have been unlawfully discriminated against, you have the right to have your complaint heard in a timely manner. You may talk to someone informally to try to resolve the situation. You also have the right to file a written, formal complaint stating your view. This is called a grievance. YOUR RIGHTS TO A GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE A grievance is a complaint saying you believe you have been unfairly or wrongly treated, and that someone has violated your rights. You or your parent/guardian have the right to file an informal or formal complaint (grievance). This grievance asks officials to look into your complaint and clear up the problem. If you have questions about your rights, you should ask a staff member or the Corporate Compliance Officer/ Rights Advisor: Jessica Wong- Sumida 210 Ward Avenue #219 Honolulu, HI Phone: Fax:

5 HOW TO FILE A GRIEVANCE/COMPLAINT Each program has a Rights Advisor. The name, address, and phone number of your child s Rights Advisor appears on page five of this brochure. The best first step may be to talk things over with the Rights Advisor, then a member from your child s treatment team, or the program manager. An investigation will be conducted on your behalf, and solutions will be proposed. Most problems are resolved this way. To File an Informal Grievance: 1. Tell a staff member or the Rights Advisor what you believe is wrong. 2. The staff person or Rights Advisor will look into your complaint. He or she will take the necessary steps in an attempt to clear up the problem. 3. If you are not satisfied with the results, you may file a formal grievance. To File a Formal Grievance: 1. Within 180 days of the event, which has caused you a grievance, give a written description of what you believe is wrong to your program administrator. If you need help with writing your grievance, a staff person can assist you. This document should contain: The date; Time and place of the event; The people involved and what happened; The names, addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses; Your signature, address and telephone number; and the date you wrote the document; 2. You have the right to a written response to your complaint by the program administrator in 15 days which tells you: The progress and results of any investigation what action, if any, the staff will take to clear up the problem or situation. If the problem or situation will take longer than 10 days to clear up, you have the right to be told in writing every 10 days about the progress of the investigation. If you remain dissatisfied after having tried to work things out within your program, you have the right to file a formal complaint with the CAMHD. 5

6 HOW TO FILE A GRIEVANCE/COMPLAINT (CONT D) If you remain dissatisfied after having tried to work things out within your program, you have the right to file a formal complaint with the CAMHD. The Division has a separate office to handle complaints. This office is called the Felix Complaints Resolution office, and it will investigate any complaint it receives about the delivery of mental health or related special education services. You may contact this office at the following: Child Adolescents Mental Health Disorders 3627 Kilauea Avenue, Room #101 Honolulu, Hawaii On Oahu, Phone: (808) From Neighbor Islands: (800) If the subject matter of your complaint does not involve mental health services, then your complaint will be forwarded to the appropriate government agency on your behalf and you will be told whom you need to contact for follow-up action. In cases involving discrimination, complaints can also be directly filed with the federal government at the following address Director, Region IX Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 50 United Nations Plaza, Room 322 San Francisco, CA You have the right not to be threatened, pressured, intimidated or discriminated against just because you filed a complaint. There is no connection between the filing of a complaint and your immigration or naturalization status. 6

7 YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A PERSON SERVED As a consumer of mental health or substance abuse services, you have responsibilities which go with your rights. These responsibilities are: 1. To obey all agency rules, policies and procedures. 2. To take an active part in planning your treatment. This includes you or your guardian telling the staff about your psychiatric, substance, and medical history, including any hospital stays and medications. 3. To attend scheduled activities and keep appointments. 4. To know and understand the rules that apply to your program. 5. To ask questions when you do not understand something we tell you or something about your treatment. 6. To accept the results if you refuse certain treatment recommendations. 7. To respect the recovery/treatment plans of other persons served. 8. To be considerate of the other persons being served and staff of your center. Remember: You are attending this program with others who are also receiving mental health or substance abuse treatment. Please respect the rights of others, as you want them to respect your rights. If you have any questions about your rights and responsibilities, please ask a staff member. It is important for you to know about your rights and responsibilities while you are at an outpatient, bio-psychosocial, or day program. This booklet informs you about your rights and responsibilities as a consumer of mental health or substance abuse services. Keep it so you can use it again later. 7

8 COMMUNITY RESOURCES There are numerous non-profit organizations in Hawaii that assist consumers of mental health services. They should be able to answer your questions about rights-related issues, and are willing to provide you with assistance. These organizations include the following: On Oahu...Mental Health Assoc To Maui.Mental Health Assoc...(800) To Kauai Mental Health Assoc... (800) To Kona.Mental Health Assoc...(800) To Hilo...Mental Health Assoc... (888) To Oahu from Outer Islands Mental Health Assoc......(800) Oahu Alliance for the Mentally Ill Protection and Advocacy Agency SPIN Special Parent Inform Network Children Community Council On Maui...Mental Health Assoc Protection & Advocacy Agency On Kauai...Mental Health Assoc Information provided by the State of Hawaii Department of Health Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division 3627 Kilauea Avenue, Room 101 Honolulu, Hawaii Phone: Oahu (808) Fax: (808) Phone Neighbor Islands (808) , ext Protection & Advocacy Agency On Big Island...Mental Health Assoc Protection & Advocacy (Hilo) Protection & Advocacy (Kona)

9 CONSUMER RIGHTS You Have a Right to be Told About Your Rights In a Mental Health Program Provided or Funded by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division Department of Health 1. The right to a humane environment. Consumer Rights in CAMHD Programs 2. The right to have someone tell you of your rights, in a language you understand. 3. The right to a written individualized treatment plan, and the right to on-going participation in the treatment planning process. 4. The right to a clinical record, and access to that record. 5. The right to confidentiality of treatment records. 6. The right to agree to treatment except in emergency situations. 7. The right to refuse participation in treatment. 8. The right to be free from unlawful discrimination. 9. The right to be informed of and fully understand one s rights. 10. The right to file a complaint, and to be able to do so without fear of retaliation. 9

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