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���I���m Dr. Myron Green, Ms. Ellis��� fianc��.��� He slammed his fist into his hand. ���Your professionalism is a disgrace to my fianc��e and the medical community! Enough already, just let someone else help us. This is our medical right.��� Again, he leaned on the counter. He confronted her dull-skinned, worn-out face with a hidden warning. ���We also have a right to file a complaint with the Georgia Medical Board for unprofessional conduct!���

-Dr. Myron Greene,  ���Choice of a Lifetime��� by Pamela Jones

Unless you���re having a baby, a hospital visit is often an unexpected event. In most cases, it���s a situation involving sickness. And nine out of ten times, it���s a severe illness.

Let���s face facts: the rising cost of medical healthcare is staggering. That alone is a significant challenge. You don���t want to grapple with additional issues, such as dealing with incompetent medical staff.

In fairness, medical staff are facing higher levels of stress now more than ever. Some of the stress factors they face include understaffing and employee burnout.

Regardless of the challenges medical staff face, patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect!

You want to trust the medical staff that will be overseeing your health needs. But if they���re rude towards you before or during medical treatment, can you trust them? Chances are, no. You won���t even be comfortable with them!

Fortunately, patients have medical rights.

State-Level Patient Medical Rights

It���s important to know that while federal laws protect patients��� medical rights nationwide, those same rights differ on a state level. Some variations are:

The statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, and the amount of compensation awardedPatient privacy and consentWhether hospitals or creditors have a legal right to place a lien or foreclosure on a patient���s property to collect unpaid medical debtRegulations about minors having the ability to consent to healthcare and keeping that information private.

Here are some suggestions to find more specific information about medical rights state by state:

State Health DepartmentState Insurance RegulatorState Attorney General���s OfficeAdvocate groups such as PatientRightsAdvocate.orgHospital handbook. They may also have a ���Patient Bill of Rights��� available on their website.

You have a choice about your healthcare, and you choose to be treated with respect. Don���t demand any less! Know your medical rights.

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