As a San Diego Family Care patient, you have the right to the following:

  • Exercise the rights listed here without regard to cultural, economic or educational background, and without regard to age, sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, or the source of payment for your care.


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  • Receive considerate and respectful care.
    • Know the name of the physician who has primary responsibility for coordinating your care and the names and professional relationships of other physicians who will see you.

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    • Receive information from your physician about the nature of your illness, your course of treatment, and your prospects for recovery, in terms that you can understand.

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    • Have an advance directive, such as a durable power of attorney or living will. These documents express your choices about your future care or name someone to decide about your care if you cannot speak for yourself. Concerns about compliance with your advance directive may be filed with the Department of Health Services Licensing and Certification District Office.

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    • Receive as much information about any proposed treatment or procedure as you may need in order to give informed consent or to refuse a course of treatment. Except in emergencies, this information shall include a description of the procedure or treatment, medically significant risks involved in the treatment, alternate courses of treatment or non-treatment and the risks involved in each, and the name of the person who will carry out the procedure or treatment.

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    • Participate actively in decisions regarding your medical care. To the extent permitted by law, this includes the right to refuse treatment. If during your visit you have any ethical concerns regarding your care, please ask your nurse to assist you to resolve your issues, or ask to contact the Biomedical Ethics Committee.

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    • Expect privacy concerning your medical care. Case discussion, consultation, examination, and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly. You have the right to be advised as to the reason for the presence of any individual.

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    • Expect confidential treatment of all communications and records pertaining to your care and stay in the facility. Your written permission shall be obtained before medical records are made available to anyone not directly concerned with your care.

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    • Receive reasonable responses to any reasonable request you make for service.

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    • Be advised if the hospital or physician proposes to engage in or perform human experimentation affecting your care or treatment. You have the right to refuse to participate in such research projects.

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    • Leave the hospital, even against the advice of your physicians.

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    • Receive reasonable continuity of care. You have the right to know in advance the time and location of appointments and the name of the physician providing the care.

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    • Be told of realistic care alternatives when hospital care is no longer appropriate.

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    • Be informed by your physician or a delegate of your physician of your continuing health-care requirements following your discharge.

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    • Examine and receive an explanation of your bill, regardless of source of payment.

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    • Know which rules and policies of the facility apply to your conduct as a patient.

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    • Have all patient's rights apply to any person who has legal responsibility to make decisions regarding medical care in your behalf.

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    • Designate visitors of your own choosing, unless such visitors endanger the health or safety of others, or significantly disrupt operations of the facility. If you are unable to state your wishes regarding visitors, any person living in your household will be granted visiting privileges, within the parameters of the facility's visitation policies and procedures.
    If at any time you believe that any of these rights have not been respected, or if you have other concerns, you may contact the corporate office at 6973 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92111. THE PRIVACY POLICY OF SAN DIEGO FAMILY CARE IS POSTED AT EACH CLINIC SITE.