Patient Rights and Responsibilities

OU Physicians is dedicated to providing you with the best in health care. Along with technical expertise, we want to provide you with a positive patient experience. We respect your rights as a patient and want you to understand your responsibility as a partner in your care. These rights may be exercised by all patients who may legally self-consent for care or other person authorized to act on the patient’s behalf, and they accept these patient responsibilities as well.

Patient Rights

You have the right to:

• Health care regardless of age, race, gender, religion, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation.
• Respect for personal dignity and privacy.
• Confidentiality of medical records: state and federal law forbids the release of your medical records without your written consent, except in specific situations where law requires OU Physicians to release information.
• Know the identity of the health care professional providing services.
• Expect diagnosis, prognosis, and method(s) of treatment to be explained clearly.
• Be informed about any risk of serious side effects.
• Participate in decisions involving your health care, including managing pain effectively.
• Know what alternatives exist for health care and treatment.
• Refuse medical care (except in specific situations as required by law).
• A second opinion.
• Know if treatment involves experimental or research protocols and the right to refuse participation.
• Express your concerns, if these rights have not been met.

Patient Responsibilities

You have the responsibility to:

• Keep appointments as scheduled, or notify us in advance if you are unable to do so.
• Provide, to the best of your knowledge, accurate information relating to health history and current health status.
• Cooperate in the treatment plan recommended by those primarily responsible for your care.
• Consult your medical care provider if your health problem doesn’t follow the expected course.
• Accept personal responsibility for refusing treatment.
• Abide by the health center and clinic regulations and policies.
• Respect the rights of OU Physicians personnel, other patients and visitors.
• Ask adequate questions to ensure understanding of your health problem and treatment.
• Parents and guardians have the responsibility to ensure that your child follows the course of treatment.
• Recognize that you make decisions daily that impact your personal health and treatment.
• Accept financial responsibility for services received, and provide information necessary to obtain insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or other third-party payments.

Note: If you believe that your patient rights have not been met, contact the clinic/nurse manager in the clinic at which you received care.

Click here for Patient Rights and Responsibilities in Spanish.