Intermountain Healthcare has adopted the patient rights and responsibilities for the protection of our patients. Intermountain prohibits discrimination of these patient rights and responsibilities based on age, race, color, ethnicity or national origin, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, and/or the ability to pay.

As a patient, you have the right to:

  • Get information about your rights, when possible before receiving care. This includes having your rights read, explained, or interpreted if needed so you understand them. Be treated with respect
  • Be free from discrimination, based on age, race, color, ethnicity or national origin, disability, religion, creed, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and/or veteran status.
  • Be treated with respect and dignity at all times and under all circumstances.
  • Be protected from physical or chemical restraints, except when necessary to protect you from hurting yourself or others.
  • Be protected from harassment, neglect, mental abuse, and physical abuse.
  • Freedom from retaliation.

Have your personal and medical information kept private

Understand and participate in your plan of care

  • Have the reason for your admission explained upon your request.
  • Review, request an amendment to, and/or get a copy of your medical record, according to state law and Intermountain Healthcare policies and procedures.
  • Be informed about your health status, including unplanned outcomes, in a manner you can understand.
  • Have free and timely interpretation and document translation from qualified individuals.
  • Have free and timely auxiliary aids (including forms in alternate formats) and services for visual, speech, hearing, or cognitive disabilities.
  • Participate in decisions about your healthcare, give or withhold informed consent, and be involved in your plan of care.
  • Create or update your Advance Directive and choose a healthcare representative or surrogate agent to make decisions for you. (Additional information is available at your request.)

Coordination of care

  • Prompt notification of your admission to your own doctor, family member, or healthcare representative.

Receive good care

  • Receive reasonable access to care offered by Intermountain Healthcare.
  • Request or refuse care to the extent allowed by law. Learn of medical consequences and risks of your decision if you refuse treatment.
  • Receive considerate care in a safe setting.
  • Receive examinations and care in settings that allow for your privacy.
  • Meet privately with an attorney, a physician, a licensed independent practitioner, a representative of the state protection and advocacy group and/or child protection agency.
  • Receive appropriate pain management.
  • Receive information about the people providing care, services, and treatment.
  • Refuse to take part in experimental care or research.

Be made comfortable during your stay in the facility

  • Have access to spiritual care and other spiritual services, and be shown respect for cultural and personal values, beliefs, and preferences.
  • Keep personal possessions in your room unless the items pose a risk to yourself or others or interfere with your plan of care.
  • Have access to visitors and give and receive verbal and written communication to and from visitors, except when doing so would interfere with your plan of care, or with the safety of other patients and staff.

Reporting Concerns

If you have a complaint or grievance about the quality of your care, you, your family member, or surrogate should contact the immediate supervisor of the unit or department, send an email to PatientFeedback@imail.org, or call the Intermountain Patient Advocacy Line at 1 (855) 442-7855 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

To file a grievance with the State of Utah, call 1(800) 662-4157 or send a letter to the Utah Bureau of Health Facility Licensing, Certification and Resident Assessment, P.O. Box 144103, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4103. To file a grievance with the State of Idaho, call Idaho Bureau of Facility Standards at 1(208) 334-6626, by mail to: P.O. Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0009 or 3232 Elder Street, Boise, Idaho 83705 or call the Idaho Board of Medicine at 1(208) 327-7000.

To report a patient safety concern, you can reach The Joint Commission:

  • By calling 1(800) 994-6610 or by fax to (630) 792-5636
  • At www.jointcommission.org, using the “Report a Patient Safety Event” link in the “Action Center” on the home page of the website
  • By mail to: The Office of Quality and Patient Safety (OQPS), The Joint Commission, One Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois 60181

Medicare Beneficiaries can file a complaint regarding the quality of care, disagree with a coverage decision, or to appeal a premature discharge with the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) in the following ways:

Any patient or other person who believes he/she may have been subject to discrimination can file a discrimination complaint or grievance by contacting Intermountain’s 504/Civil Rights Coordinator at 1 (800) 442-4845 (TTY Users: 711) or compliance.hotline@imail.org.

You can also contact the Office for Civil Rights at 1 (800) 368-1019 (TTY Users: 1 (800) 537-7697), through the Civil Rights Complaint Portal at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/smartscreen/main.jsf, by fax (202) 619 – 3818, or by mail at: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Suite 509 F, HHH Building, Washington, D.C. 20201. Complaint forms are available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/office/file/index.html.