BHSI CLIENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

We have prepared this information to inform you of your rights and responsibilities as a recipient of mental health services and to familiarize you with our policies.

Your Care

You have the right to be treated with dignity, respect, and courtesy and to receive the same consideration and treatment as anyone else regardless of your race, creed, color, beliefs, national origin, source of payment, age, religion, disability or sexual and affectional preferences. You have the right to be free from verbal, physical, or sexual abuse by the practitioner.

Your Privacy Rights

Please refer to the BHSI Clinic Notice of Privacy Practices for a complete explanation of your privacy rights and responsibilities. You have been given a copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices along with this notice. By signing for the clinic notice, you acknowledge that we have provided it to you.

Treatment Options

You have the right to be informed, in understandable language, of treatment recommendations and alternatives, risks and side effects, approximate length, cost and anticipated outcome of the treatment. If medication is being considered, you have the right to be informed by the appropriate medical staff member of treatment alternatives, actions of medication, and possible side effects. You have the right to request a second opinion if you disagree with or cannot understand the recommendations.

Staff Privacy and Security

The therapists and office staff have the right to privacy and security from direct or implied harm. Should a patient violate these rights, the treatment will be terminated.

Treatment Plans

Both you and your therapist should agree upon your treatment plan. If you do not understand the plan, please ask for clarification. You have the right to be informed of your therapist’s assessment of your condition upon which the treatment plan is based. It is your responsibility to advise your therapist if you want to follow a certain treatment plan. You may also refuse treatment. If you find your therapist is not helpful or is difficult for you to work with, you may request his or her help in suggesting another therapist.

Emergency Treatment

You can be treated without your consent (i.e., involuntary hospitalization) only if there is an emergency and in your therapist’s opinion, failure to act immediately would seriously jeopardize you or someone else.

Therapy Risks

The therapy process may entail emotional pain, distress, and/or life change. Although therapy helps most people, it is not always completely effective in removing symptoms.

Evaluations

All of our evaluations are for the purpose of determining if treatment is necessary, and what appropriate treatment might include. We do not conduct custody evaluations, pre-sentencing evaluations, or other such evaluations that fall outside our treatment aims.

Schedules

We strive to see our patients on time. If this is not possible and your clinician is running late for some reason, you will be notified. Patients who are more than ten minutes late to their appointments may need to be rescheduled.

Medications

It is your responsibility to know the names of the medications that you have been prescribed, and their purpose. If you need a medication refill, we suggest that you contact your pharmacy early in the morning and before the weekend.

Grievance Procedure

• If you have a problem, concern, complaint or grievance, please discuss it with your therapist first.
• If this does not bring resolution, or if such discussion is not feasible due to the nature of the concern, ask to speak to the Clinic Director or Medical Director.
• If you are unable to follow these procedures, or are uncomfortable with the requirements of the process, you may designate a representative. Your representative must have written authorization to act on your behalf. You have the right to request a written response within 72 hours.
• You may also contact the following agencies: State Board of Medical Practice, Minnesota State Board of Nursing, Minnesota Board of Psychology, Minnesota Board of Social Work, Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Department of Human Services and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Qualifications

Therapists must have formal graduate training in order to be licensed in their fields. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have about your therapist’s education, background and licensure or certification.

Address or Phone Changes

Please notify us of any changes in your address, home or work telephone numbers.

Caller ID Systems

Our telephone system is set up to receive calls from one main line in each clinic. This is the number you will receive to contact the clinic. To avoid confusion, our other lines have been blocked so those numbers will not appear on caller ID systems. If your system does not receive calls from blocked lines, please let BHSI staff know how to reach you. If your telephone is programmed to reject blocked calls, we may be unable to reach you to let you know if your clinician has called in ill and needs to cancel an appointment that day.

Clinical Record

We will maintain a clinical record with documentation of all services provided to you. This record may also contain information received from other sources. If you have been an inpatient under the care of a physician employed by or under contract with BHSI, your BHSI medical record may include those inpatient records.

Emergency Procedures

We contract with Crisis Connection to provide emergency after-hours and weekend telephone coverage. To access this service, call your BHSI clinic and follow the prompts.

If you have any questions about any of these policies, please feel free to discuss them with your therapist.