Policy:

As a patient of Bright Heart Health, you have the right to:

  1. Receive behavioral health services to afford an opportunity to improve your condition.
  2. Considerate and respectful care.  You have the right to respect for your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual and personal values, beliefs and preferences.
  3. Have a family member (or other representative of your choosing) and your own physician notified promptly of your admission to Bright Heart Health.
  4. Know the name of the primary therapist or physician who has primary responsibility for coordinating your care and the names and professional relationships of other clinicians who will see you.
  5. Receive information about your health status, diagnosis, course of treatment, prospects for recovery and outcomes of care (including unanticipated outcomes) in terms you can understand. You have the right to effective communication and to participate in the development and implementation of your plan of care and to receive information about the continuity of your care. If you need an interpreter or have special needs, let our staff know. You have the right to participate in ethical questions that arise in the course of your care, including issues of conflict resolution.
  6. Make decisions regarding your care, and receive information about any proposed treatment in order to give informed consent or to refuse a course of treatment.
  7. Request or refuse treatment, to the extent permitted by law.  However, you do not have the right to demand inappropriate or unnecessary treatment or services or to refuse to cooperate with the care necessary for your safety based on the plan of care. You have the right to reasonable responses to any reasonable requests made for service.
  8. Leave Bright Heart Health treatment program against the advice of health care providers, to the extent permitted by law. Your treatment participation is voluntary.
  9. Be advised if your health care providers propose to engage in or perform research affecting your care or treatment. You have the right to refuse to participate in such research proposals and any refusal will not jeopardize your access to treatment or services.
  10. Have personal privacy respected. You have the right to be told the reason for the presence of any individual. You have the right to have non-health care provider visitors leave prior to a session and when treatment issues are being discussed. You have the right to confidential treatment of all communications and records pertaining to your. You can review a separate “Notice of Privacy Practices” at our website www.brighthearthealth.com in detail and how we may use and disclose your protected health information.
  11. Not to be required to perform in public gatherings or make public statements which acknowledge gratitude to Bright Heart Health or our services.
  12. Have Bright Heart Health not use any identifiable photographs you have without your written and signed consent.
  13. Receive care in a safe setting, free from mental, verbal, physical or sexual abuse and neglect, exploitation or harassment. You have the right to access protective and advocacy services including notifying government agencies of neglect or abuse. You can review the list of advocacy services at our website https://www.brighthearthealth.com/advocacy-services/.
  14. Be informed by your primary therapist or physician (or a delegate), of continuing health care requirements following discharge from the program. You have the right to be involved in the development and implementation of your discharge plan. Upon your request, a friend or family member may also be provided this information.
  15. Know which rules and policies apply to your conduct while a patient.
  16. Examine and receive an explanation of Bright Heart Health’s bill regardless of the source of payment.
  17. Please refer to Federal law H.R.6 - SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act
  18. File a complaint or grievance including a discrimination complaint or grievance based on a physical or mental disability with Bright Heart Health by emailing or calling: Quality Improvement Supervisor, Venus Mauricio, at 800-892-2695 or vdumduma@brighthearthealth.com.  You have the right to be informed of the outcome or response to your complaint or grievance within a reasonable time and without affecting the quality of your care. The Quality Improvement Supervisor will review each grievance and provide you with a written acknowledgment as well as a written resolution.  The response will include the steps taken to investigate the grievance, the results of the grievance process, and the date the process was completed. Concerns regarding quality of care or premature discharge will also be referred to the appropriate Quality Improvement Supervisor.
  19. File a written privacy complaint with The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, 50 United Nations Plaza, Room 322, San Francisco, CA 94102, phone: (415) 437-8310, fax: (415) 437-8329, TTY: (800) 537-7697.
  20. Contact the Joint Commission’s Office of Quality Monitoring if you feel your concerns about patient care or safety have not been adequately addressed by Bright Heart Health. Phone: (800) 994-6610, email: complaint@jointcommission.org, fax: (630) 792-5636 or write to Division of Accreditation Operations, Office of Quality Monitoring-Joint Commission, One Renaissance Blvd., Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181.
  21. To file a complaint with your local state authorities, please refer to the contact information below.

As a patient at Bright Heart Health, you also have the following responsibilities:

  1. To follow Bright Heart Health’s rules, regulations and policies affecting patient care and conduct.
  2. To respect the rights and property of other patients and Bright Heart Health personnel. Just as you want privacy and courteous treatment, so do other patients.
  3. To conduct yourself in a respectful manner in communications and interactions with Bright Heart Health staff and patients. This includes refraining from inappropriate, discriminatory, harassing or abusive language and behavior.
  4. To report, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information regarding any matters pertaining to your health to the treatment team and other health care professionals who care for you.
  5. To be informed and to ask questions by making an effort to understand your health care needs and by asking your health care provider for information relating to your treatment. Your health care provider may not know when you are confused or uncertain or just want more information. If you don’t understand the medical words they use, ask for a simpler explanation.
  6. To abstain from alcohol and any other illicit drugs throughout your treatment, including evenings and weekends. 
  7. The use of tobacco, cigarettes, or vape pens is prohibited while receiving services.
  8. To recognize that Bright Heart Health has a commitment to the education of future health care professionals. Patients receiving care at Bright Heart Health are a part of this process.
  9.  To cooperate with the members of Bright Heart Health’s treatment team who provide care to you.

To file a complaint with your local state authorities.

California: California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Licensing and Certification, 350 90th St., 2nd floor, Daly City, CA 94015, phone: (800) 554-0353 or TTY: (916) 657-3042.

Maine: Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health, 11 State House Station - 41 Anthony Avenue, Augusta, ME 04333-0011; phone: (207) 287-2595 (Ask to speak to the Grievance Coordinator)

Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, West Tennessee Complaint Number (866) 344-0858.