PATIENTS' RIGHTS IN VIRGINIA
STAYING ALIVE AND PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS AS A PATIENT
According to a recent study by Johns Hopkins, it is estimated that over 250,000 people
are killed every year in America due to medical incompetence.
It is the third leading cause of death in the United States. See Report.
Some other studies even have the figure higher, at 440,000.
And millions more are injured.
The reason this is not well known is because medical examiners rarely note on death certificates the human errors and system failures involved.
America's medical system is to blame for these deaths. The rot in the system is deep.
Hospitals are often understaffed and overbooked.
The purpose of this report is to show you how to try to protect yourself and others from incompetence.
Our goal is reform.
Where possible we want people to report bad practices
and try to work with institutions like hospitals for reform.
Lawsuits are a last resort.
However, sadly, in our view the rot in much of the system is so deep
that government regulators and lawsuits may be necessary.
We would stress that it is very important to complain.
If you don't speak out, somebody else could be injured or killed.
Our goal here is reform. You can be a part of it.
RELATED LINKS
The third-leading cause of death in the U.S. most doctors don't want you to know about (CNBC, 2-22-18)
A healthcare industry built on premature death (Common Dreams, 3-28-19)
FILING A HEALTH CARE COMPLAINT
How do you file a health care complaint?
If you are in a hospital, try to bring your complaints first to your doctor and nurses. Be as specific as you can and ask about how your complaint can be resolved.
You can also ask to speak to a hospital social worker who can help solve problems and identify resources.
Social workers also organize services and paperwork when patients leave the hospital.
If this is not working, be sure to notify these people that you plan to report matters to the proper authorities.
VERY IMPORTANT. Save all written records you have received.
Try to be calm. DO NOT make vague threats that may not be credible.
For example, a lawsuit is a serious and expensive time consuming matter.
It is a last resort.. although if you feel serious injury is fault of hospital you should definitely proceed.
See our links below for more information.
Below are some resources about how you can file a complaint with the state of Virginia's health department.
You can contact your state medical board. You can complain to medicare.
You can also contact the Federal Trade Commission about false advertising.
FEDERAL LINKS
How to File a Complaint (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
General advice for filing a medical complaint.
This is for people who believe they have been discriminated against, had rights violated, or had the wrong medical decision made. It goes into several options.
Including civil rights, medicare, poor care received in a hospital, or how to appeal a decision.
This is for reporting individual healthcare professionals and facilities.
How Can I Complain About Poor Medical Care I Received in a Hospital? (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
How to Complain and Get Heard (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
File a Complaint (Healthcarefinder.gov)
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
You can contact the Federal Trade Commission about false advertising.
Filing A Complaint (Federal Trade Commission)
Submit a Consumer Complaint to the FTC (FTC)
FTC Complaint Assistant (FTC Complaint Assistant)
MEDICARE
How to file a complaint (grievance) (Medicare.gov)
This is for people who want to file a complaint based on the quality of care they have received from a medical provider.
This is for reporting individual healthcare professionals and facilities.
Types of Complaints that can be Filed About Your Quality of Care (Medicare.gov)
How to file a complaint about your quality of care.
Contact Information of Organizations for Medicare By Organization or Topic of interest
STATE OF VIRGINIA
Complaint Unit (Virginia Department of Health)
This is for reporting a facility.
The link above provides information on how to file a consumer complaint regarding the health care services received at the facilities licensed by the Office of Licensure and Certification.
This includes nursing facilities, inpatient and outpatient hospitals, abortion facilities, home care organizations, hospice programs, dialysis facilities, clinical laboratories, and managed care organizations.
File a Complaint (Virginia Department of Health Professions)
This is for reporting individual healthcare professionals and facilities.
The Department of Health Professions receives complaints about Virginia healthcare practitioners who may have violated a regulation or law.
Filing a Complaint FAQs (Virginia Department of Health Professions)
This is for reporting individual healthcare professionals and facilities.
FAQs about the page above.
Health Care Professionals (Virginia Department of Health Professions)
This is for reporting individual healthcare professionals
Links to complain to various health regulatory boards.
VIRGINIA HEALTHCARE LAWS AND REGULATIONS
Laws Regulations and Guidelines (Virginia Department of Health Professions)
Laws Governing All Health Professions
Licensure and Certification (Virginia Department of Health)
The licensing for facilities: hospitals, outpatient surgical hospitals, nursing facilities, home care organizations, hospice programs
WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT VIRGINIA LAWS AND REGULATIONS
Commonwealth of Virginia - Division of Legislative Services
Virginia Health Professionals Board of Medicine
Virginia Health Care Laws - Find a Law
VIRGINIA HEALTHCARE GENERAL
Virginia Health Care Association
VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Virginia House of Delegates Committees List
Virginia House of Delegates - Health and Welfare Institutions Committees
VIRGINIA SENATE
Senate of Virginia Standing Committees
VIRGINIA LONG TERM CARE
The Division of Long Term Care (Virginia Department of Health)
Home and Hospice Care (Virginia Department of Health)
VIRGINIA NURSING HOMES
Nursing Home - Know Your Rights (VA Legal Aid)
Legal aid for reporting and investigating nursing homes in Virginia.
GENERAL
FIND YOUR STATE MEDICAL BOARD
State medical boards are the agencies that license medical doctors, investigate complaints, discipline physicians who violate the medical practice act, and refer physicians for evaluation and rehabilitation when appropriate.
This is for reporting individual healthcare professionals.
CONSUMER GUIDE TO FILING A COMPLAINT
A Complaint Guide for Unhappy Customers (Washington Post)
How to Complain and Get Results (The New York Times)
CONSUMER RIGHTS
Consumer Rights and Protections (Medline Plus)
Rights and Protections (Healthcare.gov)
Consumer Protection And Managed Care: The Need For Organized Consumers (Health Affairs)
Consumer Protections (Office of Personnel Management)
Filing a Consumer Complaint (USA.gov)
Consumer Action Help Desk (Consumer Action)
FIGHTING HEALTHCARE FRAUD AND ABUSE
Fighting Healthcare Fraud and Abuse
4 Ways to Deal with Abusive Physician Behavior (Physicians Practice)
Patient Abuse in the Health Care Setting: The Nurse as Patient Advocate (National Center for Biotechnology Information)
Patient Abuse in the Health Care Setting: The Nurse as Patient Advocate (AORN)
PATIENT ADVOCACY
PATIENTS' ADVOCACY GROUPS
Coalition for Patients' Rights
National Patient Advocate Foundation
PATIENT ADVOCATES IN VIRGINIA
Find a Patient Advocate in Virginia
PATIENT ASSISTANCE
ADVOCACY GROUPS FOR HEALTHCARE REFORM
List of healthcare reform advocacy groups in the United States
American Medical Student Association
HEALTHCARE ASSISTANCE
State Insurance Assistance Programs
FIND A GOOD DOCTOR
Find the Right Doctor. Get the Best Care (Health Grades)
How to find out if your doctor is in good standing. It takes some digging (Washington Post)
How to Find Complaints Against a Doctor or Hospital (Nolo)
National Practitioner Data Bank
HEALTHCARE LAWSUITS
As we mentioned above, filing a lawsuit should be your last resort.
However, if you or a loved one have been seriously injured,
you should definitely discuss the matter with a lawyer.
There is no guarantee you'll get any money through a lawsuit.
You could actually even lose money and waste a lot of time on the effort.
Lawsuits can become very expensive and some even last for years.
If you don't pay the legal fees yourself, you could be getting into a legal agreement that might not serve your best interests.
Here are some resources if a lawsuit is your only resort.
Finding a Personal Injury Lawyer
THE BASICS OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Medical malpractice is when a patient is harmed by a doctor (or other type of medical professional) who fails to competently perform his or her medical duties. The rules about medical malpractice vary from state to state.
But there are some general principals and broad categories of rules that apply in most cases.
REQUIREMENTS FOR A MALPRACTICE CLAIM
A doctor-patient relationship existed: You must show that you had a physician-patient relationship with the doctor or medical professional that you are suing.
The doctor was negligent: Just because you are unhappy with your diagnosis or treatment results, this doesn't mean your doctor was negligent. The doctor must have been negligent in connection to your diagnosis or treatment. To sue for malpractice, you must be able to show that the doctor (or medical professional) harmed you in some way that a competent doctor, under the same circumstances, would not have. It is not required for the doctor's care to be the best possible, but to be reasonable, skillful and careful.
The doctor's negligence caused the injury: Because many malpractice cases involve patients who were already sick or injured, there is often a question of whether the doctor did, negligent or not, actually cause the harm. For example, if a patient dies after treatment for cancer, and the doctor did do something negligent, it could be hard to prove that the doctor's negligence, and not the cancer, caused the death.
The injury lead to specific damages: Here are types of harm that patients can sue for: physical pain, mental anguish, additional medical bills, lost work and lost earning capacity.
COMMON TYPES OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Failure to diagnose: This is a situation in which a competent doctor would have discovered the patient's illness or made a different diagnosis.
Improper Treatment: This is when a doctor treats a patient in a way that no competent doctor would have.
Failure to warn a patient of known risks. Doctors have a duty to warn patients of known risks of a procedure or treatment. This is known as the duty of informed consent.