Rights and Responsibilities How do the rights and responsibilities of patients differ from the rights and responsibilities of employees? How are they similar?

Until recently, patient responsibilities were seldom directly 'spelled out' in the American healthcare system. This changed with the passage of HIPAA in 1996. HIPPA "sets forth policies and standards for how patient information, including doctors' notes, medical test results, lab reports, and billing information may be shared" (Torrey, 2012, HIPPA). It gives patients the right to access their information and demands that patient data be treated in a secure fashion. Also under the law, patients have a right to informed consent over the procedures they undergo, so that they or a designated caregiver can make decisions about what they perceive to be their best interests. Ultimately, the healthcare system must serve the needs of patients, not physicians and other healthcare employees. That is why patients must give consent if, for example, they are participating in an experimental drug trial that might not directly benefit them but only benefit patients with their condition later on. In general, physicians cannot make decisions about patient health with the greater good of While these bills regarding healthcare providers' rights are controversial, some rights of healthcare employees are widely agreed-upon within the medical community. Employees have the right to be compensated for their work in a timely fashion, to receive…