About this Guide
This guide provides a brief overview and links to documents that define the rights of the people we serve. Most importantly, we review the rights they have as recipients of Health Care Services (including mental health care), but this guide also contains some information and links you can use to help people understand their rights in settings where they live and receive treatment services.
See a list of updates to this guide below.
View the Minnesota Health Care Patients' Bill of Rights, here.
You will notice that this Bill of Rights applies to persons admitted to hospitals, minors admitted to a residential program, and any person who is receiving mental health treatment on an out-patient basis or in a community support program or other community-based program.
This bill of rights requires as the first right listed, that individuals "at admission, be told that there are legal rights for their protection during their stay at the facility or throughout their course of treatment and maintenance in the community." We have developed a short, plain language version of this Bill of Rights for distribution to new referrals during their intake interviews. This and the full printed BIll of Rights to clients upon admission.
You may notice that most of this Bill of Rights reflects other Accend polices and procedures and mission regarding being person-centered, respectful, private and confidential, open, planful and deliberate about what we do and how we treat the people we serve.
Additional Rights
Additionally, clients have the following rights.
- The right to be free from discrimination based on age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, and status with regard to public assistance. The license holder must follow all applicable state and federal laws including the Minnesota Human Rights Act, chapter 363A.
- The right to be informed prior to a photograph or audio or video recording being made of the client. The client has the right to refuse to allow any recording or photograph of the client that is not for the purposes of identification or supervision by the license holder.
- The right to be free from aversive and deprivation procedures and restraints (brief restraints to prevent serious harm are allowed for children as described in our Positive Behavioral Redirection, De-Escalation and Intervention policy).o
- The right to reasonable access to care. This means we will schedule services at reasonable times requested by client, typically business hours and early evenings. Clients are informed of this in the Treatment Plan Consent page of the service plan , and that they may call between scheduled services if urgent needs arise.
Notification of Rights
New clients must be notified of their rights (given a copy of the Health Care Bill of Rights) on the day of admission. This must be documented in the individual's file. A simplified version of the Health Care Bill of Rights is also included in the admission packet. Clients may choose to accept a copy of either or both, and may request assistance reading and understanding each.
Document the client's receipt of the Bill of Rights in the consent portion of the Adult Intake Assessment and Plan, or for children, the parents' signature(s) on the Child Intake Assessment and Plan.
Treatment Consent
Treatment Consent for mental health services is required. Consent is generally obtained on the Treatment/Service plan1. Consent is not required for an Intake Interview or Diagnostic Assessment except in certain conditions for children2. Verbal consent is allowed for Telehealth services.3
1Treatment Consent is not required for an Intake Interview or DA Intake Interview. Consent for Treatment is consent to the Treatment/Service Plan.
2For children under the age of 16, consent for intake and DA intake interviews is required of the parent. Children over the age of 16 may consent for both intake assessments and treatment.
3Mental health services covered by medical assistance as direct face-to-face services may be provided via telehealth and are covered by MHCP. For mental health services or assessments delivered through telehealth that are based on an individual treatment plan, the provider may document the client's verbal approval or electronic written approval of the treatment plan or change in the treatment plan in lieu of the client's signature. MHCP Reference here.
For any clients receiving a mix of face-to-face and Telehealth services, we still recommend you obtain a written signature when you see them.
Consent for Intervention While Initiating
At times, we intervene on behalf of clients during the intake process and before the Treatment Plan is complete and signed. For purposes of Treatment Consent, we consider the individual's participation in these interventions as implied consent as a part of the intake process.
Behavioral Health Home Services Additional Requirements and Exception
Behavioral Health Home Services require two separate notifications/consents. These documents represent Treatment Consent for BHH Services when that is the only service those individuals will receive. Signature on the BHH Service Plan is still strongly encouraged.
Grievances
One section of the Bill of Rights requires that persons we serve receive "shall be encouraged and assisted, throughout their stay in a facility or their course of treatment, to understand and exercise their rights as patients and citizens" and goes on to say that they may "voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services to facility staff and others of their choice, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal, including threat of discharge."
Read our Grievance Policy, here.
Responding to Concerns, Complaints or Grievances
Any Team Member who hears a concern or complaint or grievance from someone we serve should
- offer the individual help in documenting the concern in detail, or
- offer to report or help the individual report the concern to a supervisor.
- If the individual wishes to file a formal grievance,
- Refer the individual to our Grievance Policy and the form found there, or
- offer to document the details in TabsTM using the Form found at document>client forms>client incidents>record of client grievance. Any formal grievance reported by an individual served should be documented and investigated using the form
Other Rights
The people we serve may live in facilities or receive services of other types. When they do, they may also have other Bills of Rights that apply to those placements and services.
If you have questions about the rights of the people you serve and how to advocate successfully on their behalf, please ask your supervisor for assistance. See also the Effective Advocacy Guide in this manual.
If you believe that you have observed or learned of violations of the rights of any of the individuals you serve, report this immediately to your supervisor, who will advise you on the course of action you, or we can take to resolve the problem
This guide is a living document. We want to improve it with your help. Do you have questions? Found a typo? Find yourself wanting more information? Please send us your thoughts about anything in this chapter by tapping on the link below.
April 26, 2023
Additional rights added. Notification procedures added.
February 16, 2024
Treatment Consent requirements added and clarified.
April 2, 2024
We understood that verbal consent for services was ended as allowed when the COVID health emergency ended, but we have discovered language that allows it for Telehealth services. The previous language below as been edited.
Verbal consent, allowed during the COVID federal health emergency is no longer allowed. Options for obtaining consent on a Treatment Plan include: - Signature during a face-to-face visit, - Electronic signature using Signwell, or - Signature on a Treatment Plan that is mailed to a client with a stamped return address envelope.
