Rights and Duties

The rights and duties of all users of the Pathology Las Américas/Las Americas Pathology Center are as follows:

Rights

Patients’ rights include:

• The right to be attended without restrictions because of race, sex, age, language, religion, political opinions or any other type including social origin, economic position or social condition.
• The right to be attended by personnel duly qualified to care for your life and health, and to receive from them safe continuous efficient prompt ethical timely care which corresponds to your healthcare needs.
• The right to receive decent amiable cordial treatment respecting your opinions, beliefs and customs.
• The right to accept or reject treatments or procedures leaving a written record of your decision.
• The right to be guaranteed full reserve regarding your disease, test results and your identity; this information can only be accessed by patients themselves, judicial and healthcare authorities, in cases foreseen in the law. Third parties may access them with a patient’s previous written authorization.
• The right to be given service in calm clean comfortable places in a safe decent private environment which may guarantee the safe handling of their belongings.
• The right to accept or reject the participation of trainees in their healthcare process.
• The right to receive information about the price of service requested and provided, and to have the right to have doubts regarding this matter cleared up.
• In general, the right to know the way to submit claims, complaints or suggestions.

Duties

Patients’ duties include:

• Assuming individual healthcare responsibly, following treatments and instructions that the healthcare team provides comprehensively.
• Providing true clear complete information regarding health conditions, preparation, sample taking and treatments received.
• Caring for the institution’s implements, installations and services provided, and using them rationally.
• Addressing kindly and respectfully all the people they have contact with while they are at the Laboratory, and respecting the intimacy and beliefs of other patients and their relatives.
• Collaborating in fulfilling the instructions given at the laboratory, and informing in the event they have not understood, or they have not followed instructions.
• Caring for or respecting other people’s personal property left in common areas.
• Paying the price corresponding to the healthcare service provided in accordance with a patient’s health plan.
• Channeling complaints, claims and suggestions following the chain of command.
• Abiding by Social Protection Ministry Resolution 7036 of 1991 which determines decisions regarding cigarette smoking because the Laboratory is a smoke-free place.