Parent and Patient Rights and Responsibilities

You and/or your child have a right to:

• A copy of the Patients’ and Parents’ Rights and Responsibilities. If you do not understand your rights, they will be explained to you in a language you understand.
  • Patient Rights and Responsibilities, English (.pdf)
  • Patient Rights and Responsibilities, Spanish (.pdf)
• Understand your/your child’s care and treatment plan.
• Know the members of the healthcare team who are caring for and treating you/your child.
• Have a person and/or doctor of your choice be told about your/your child’s hospitalization.
• Get information about your/your child’s medical condition in words or a language you understand. This information includes diagnosis, tests, procedures and treatment options, as well as possible risks and benefits.
• Be a part of the decisions made about your/your child's treatment. This includes asking for help from someone in the Ethics Department, as well as naming a family spokesperson to work with the staff if ethical issues arise in your/your child’s care.
• Give informed consent for all treatment and procedures. This includes changing your mind about having a procedure done, refusing to sign a consent form if you do not understand and/or agree to everything, refusing treatment (if the law allows) and being told all the pros and cons of refusing treatment. However, if, after reading the document, you do not want to sign the consent form or do not agree with everything, you may need to seek care from another provider where you are more comfortable.
• Be told what you need to know and do when you or your child goes home.
• Have Children’s Colorado staff listen to what you say and answer your questions. Know that you can express your feelings or fears and get caring responses.
• Feel free to complain and get feedback without worrying that it will affect your/your child’s care.
• See an in-network healthcare provider at an in-network facility. If an in-network provider is not available, you may receive medical services from an out-of-network provider. For questions, please call your health insurance plan at the number on your health insurance ID card or the Colorado Division of Insurance.

You and/or your child have a right to:

• Get all medical care and treatment that is available and medically necessary regardless of your/your child’s race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, creed, religion, cultural, economic, educational background, marital status, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability (mental and physical), or other protected classification to the extent required by applicable laws.
• Choose someone to make decisions if you/your child cannot make decisions.
• Sign an advance directive (living will) if allowed by law. Expect your/your child’s healthcare team to follow this directive, when it’s legal for them to do so.
• Decide not to take part in the training of healthcare workers, research or in experimental programs.
• Get an estimated cost for services when you ask for it before we provide non-emergency care.
• Get information about Children’s Colorado’s financial assistance, charity care, and payment policies as provided by Colorado Revised Statute § 25-3-112.
• An explanation of your bill and the services provided to you / your child.

You and/or your child have a right to:

• Get care and treatment that is right for you and your family’s emotional, educational, spiritual, and developmental needs. This means giving as much personal privacy as we can.
• Not be isolated or restrained in any way, as a means of control, punishment, convenience or revenge by the staff.
• Get comfort and respectful care if you are/your child is dying. This includes managing pain, respecting cultural and spiritual concerns and giving compassionate care during your time of grief.
• Get care and treatment in a safe setting, free from bullying and abuse.
• Be told about pain and ways to relieve the pain.
• Have family around to comfort and help take care of you/your child whenever they can (limits may be in place during the winter when colds and flu are going around).
• Have friends visit during visiting hours, when possible.
• Be told if there is any reason why you/your child cannot have visitors.
• Decide who can visit you/your child in the hospital. Not have visitors limited or denied because of their race, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or disability.
• Decide who will care for you/your child after you leave Children’s Colorado. Children’s Colorado staff will give you information about care providers or available services.
• Be told whether referrals are to providers in which Children’s Colorado has a financial interest.
• Be told of the patient’s rights before giving or stopping patient care whenever possible.
• Be given access to the medical record after discharge.
• All requests to see and/or receive copies of medical records should be made to the Health Information Management / Release of Information Department.
• Expect that medical information be only shared with those allowed to have it, such as your medical team (doctors, nurses, and social workers), insurance providers, or people you ask for your records be shared with.
• For a full description of who we can share your medical records with, please refer to the Notice of Privacy Practices.
• If you have questions or concerns about your medical information being seen or used inappropriately, please contact:
  • Denver Metro: 720-777-1010
  • Southern Colorado: 719-305-1010
  • Compliance Anonymous Hotline: 866-568-5420
  • Privacy Officer: 720-777-5834

  You may also send a letter to:
  Children’s Hospital Colorado
  Attn: Privacy Officer
  13123 E. 16th Avenue, Box 450
  Aurora, CO 80045

You and/or your child have the responsibility to:

• Tell your/your child’s doctor or Children’s Colorado staff right away if you need a language other than English so that you can understand and give informed consent for your/your child’s care and treatment.
• Give true and complete information about you/your child’s health. Tell us about any unexpected changes in you/your child’s condition.
• For parents/legally authorized representatives, when asked, give us proof that you have the right to consent to your child’s admission and medical/surgical treatment.
• Give Children’s Colorado accurate information about your/ your child’s current insurance coverage and/or eligibility for state or federal programs and pay bills in a timely manner.
• Give us a copy of your/your child’s current advance directive (living will), if there is one.
• Ask questions if you don’t understand information or instructions.
• Follow the treatment plan you and the caregivers agree on. Be aware of what will happen if you refuse treatment or don’t follow instructions and take responsibility for those actions.
• Work with members of the medical team to have a pain management plan.
• Keep your appointments and be on time. If you can’t keep your/your child’s appointment, call as soon as possible to schedule a new one.
• Tell your/your child’s doctor, nurse, or patient representative if you have concerns or aren’t happy with the care you are/your child is receiving.
• Act appropriately and be respectful when you try to settle disagreements.
• Be thoughtful of other patients and Children’s Colorado staff by limiting noise levels and numbers of visitors.
• Respect the privacy of other children and families getting care at Children’s Colorado.
• Keep cell phones on silent/vibrate mode when around patients or the healthcare team.
• Have no more than two family members stay overnight in patient rooms, as facilities and requirements allow. Parents of children who are hospitalized in the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit are not allowed to stay in the room with their child.
• Pay the medical bills for which you are responsible.

You and your child have the responsibility to:

• Learn and follow Children’s Colorado’s rules.
• Help the staff make Children’s Colorado a safe place for everyone by telling us about safety concerns you have.
• Not use illegal drugs, marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes, and/or carry guns or other weapons.
• Not take pictures, videos, or recordings of staff, equipment, or any non-family members.
• Follow the rules for visitors. Parents or another adult in the family must look after children younger than 18 who come to visit you/your child. Children must also follow the rules.
• Not allow anyone who is under the influence of any substance to visit you/your child.
• Dress appropriately.
• Not swear, make threats, or engage in behaviors that impact patient care.
• Not have sexual relations or watch pornography while at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
• Know if you break the rules, security will be called and you may be taken off the property.

It is the policy of Children’s Hospital Colorado to respect the rights of people 18 years old and older and those authorized by federal and state laws to make healthcare decisions:

• Agree to or turn down medical or surgical treatment, including not having or stopping life-sustaining treatment or asking not to be resuscitated.
• Have the option to review and re-write advance directives (living wills).
• To present advance directives or ask for help with writing them.

The presence or lack of an advance directive (living will) has no effect on your access to care, treatment, and services.

Children’s Hospital Colorado respects the rights of every patient/ parent and is devoted to providing equal access for everyone.

This includes the right to communication in a language that you can understand. To provide safe and effective communication, our policy says that only professional and qualified medical interpreters can be used. This means that patients, their family members, and friends may not be used as the main interpreters when talking about medical care.

Medical interpreters transfer information from one language to another. They must completely understand the topics they are talking about, so they can accurately transfer information from one language to another. They must be sensitive to the cultures of the language(s) in which they interpret as well as maintain confidentiality and neutrality.

Medical Interpreter Office: Either in-house or contracted medical interpreters can be scheduled through the Children’s Hospital Colorado Medical Interpreter Office. Phone and video interpreter systems are also available at all Children’s Colorado locations.

If you need help or if you have unanswered questions, please call the Children’s Colorado Medical Interpreter Office:

• Denver Metro: 720-777-9800
• Southern Colorado: 719-305-6363

You may also ask to speak with the charge nurse or house supervisor.

• Sign language: Children’s Hospital Colorado provides sign language interpretation either by an in-person RID-certified interpreter or by video remote interpretation (VRI) services for our patients and parents/legally authorized representatives who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• If the patient/parents/legally authorized representative needs either a sign language interpreter or a spoken language interpreter, please tell the registration desk when you check in or when you are scheduling your appointment, so that the patient’s record will show this, and an interpreter can be scheduled ahead of time to be at the appointment.
• All of these services are provided free of charge on behalf of Children’s Hospital Colorado.