The Patient’s Bill of Rights

As an individual, you have:

• The right to person-centered care.
• The right to receive healthcare that addresses the wholeness of who you are—body, mind and spirit in the context of community.
• The right to a healthcare system that focuses on prevention and wellness.
  
• The right to be empowered as the responsible, central actor in your own healing.
  
• The right to education about self-care that includes access to scientifically-based nutrition, exercise and mind-body interventions.
  
• The right to a healing relationship with your healthcare provider that is grounded in humanism, compassion and caring.
• The right to speak openly and honestly with your healthcare providers and in return, to experience honest and supportive communications from all members of the healthcare community.
  
• The right to a healthcare environment that recognizes that to be healing and empowering, healthcare providers themselves must seek to be restored and whole.
  
• The right to embrace the spiritual dimension in the context of your healthcare.
  
• The right to healthcare providers who understand that integrity and spiritual qualities are as important as medical knowledge and technical skills in the process of healing.
  
• The right to a truly integrative medicine that is supported by rigorous scientific research, maintains the highest standards of excellence, and offers a full and complete array of care modalities.
  
• The right to healing even when there is no cure.
  
• The right to be whole.