• To receive quality services regardless of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability, national origin, or diagnosis.
  
• To be provided a safe environment for self and property.
  
• To be treated with respect, comfort, and dignity.
  
• To have your personal privacy and security maintained.
  
• To be free from neglect, exploitation; and verbal, mental, physical, and sexual abuse.
  
• To expect that all disclosures and records about your care are treated confidentially, except when otherwise required by law.
  
• To have access to and/or make copies of your medical record and right to approve or refuse the release of medical records.
  
• To be provided, to the degree known, complete information concerning your diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. If it is not medically advisable to give this information to you, the information shall be given to the person designated by you to be a legally authorized representative.
  
• To receive from your physician complete information necessary to give informed consent prior to the start of your procedure and/or treatment, including the nature and risks of any procedure, except in emergencies.
  
• To participate in decisions regarding your treatment. If you are unable to participate in those decisions, then your designated or legal representative shall do so on your behalf.
  
• To refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and be informed of the medical consequences of such refusal. You will accept responsibility for refusal of treatment or not following the instructions of the physician or facility. You may change physicians if you are not happy with the services provided by your current physician.
  
• To know the name and professional status of any person participating in your care and services.
  
• To expect and receive appropriate assessment and management of pain.
  
• To be free from seclusion and restraint, of any form, that is not medically necessary.
  
• To be given information in a manner that you understand (via translator, handouts written in English, Chamorro, or Tagalog, and in large print).
  
• To receive information on Advance Directives and be informed of our policy on Advance Directives.
  
• To be informed of the services available at the Guam Surgicenter, provisions for after-hours and emergency care, and related fees for services rendered.
  
• To be informed of any clinical trials, research or investigations, and educational projects affecting your care or treatment and that you may refuse participation in such clinical trials or research without compromise to your care.
  
• To know if your physician has a financial interest in the Guam Surgicenter and to see the "Notice of Ownership" for physician investor names.
  
• To have a surrogate (parent, legal guardian, person with medical power of attorney) exercise these Patient's Rights.
  
• To present complaints or grievances by completing the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire and/or by contacting our Front Office Supervisor at 646-3855. Any complaint that has not been remedied through our internal mechanism can be directed to the Office of the Medicare Beneficiary Ombudsman or by calling 1-800-Medicare; and/or The Joint Commission or by calling 1-800-994-6610.
  

• You are responsible for behavior that shows respect and consideration for other patients, family, visitors, and personnel of Guam Surgicenter.
  
• You are responsible for assuring that any financial obligation for health care rendered are paid in a timely manner.
  
• Providing Guam Surgicenter with the most accurate and complete information regarding present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and unexpected changes in your condition or any other patient health matters.
  
• To ask your physician when you do not understand medical words or instructions about your plan of care. If you are unable or unwilling to follow the plan of care, you are responsible for telling your physician. Your physician will explain the medical consequences of not following the recommended treatment. You are responsible for the outcome of not following your plan of care.
  
• If you have a power of attorney, you are responsible for providing a copy to our facility.
  
• You must have a designated responsible adult to drive you home after your procedure. Your procedure will be cancelled if you do not have a driver. Having a responsible adult accompany you home in a taxi is also acceptable.
  
• Keeping appointments and, if unable to do so for any reason, notifying the Guam Surgicenter and your physician.
  
• You are responsible for the disposition of your valuables, as the Guam Surgicenter will not assume this responsibility.
  
• You are responsible for following the center's "No Smoking" policy; there is no smoking allowed within twenty feet of a public building.
  

At Guam Surgicenter, we are committed to treating and using protected health information about you responsibly. This notice describes the health information we collect, and how and when we use or disclose that information. It also describes your right to access and control your protected health information. Your "protected health information" means any written or oral information about you, including demographic data that can be used to identify you, created or received by your health care provider, which relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition. This notice also describes our rights as they relate to your protected health information. This notice is effective April 14, 2003 and applies to all protected health information as defined by federal regulations.

Please download The GSC Patient Handbook for additional Information. Patient Handbook