Q&A: Duties of the Patient Rights chapter captain

Q: I was recently assigned the chapter leader for the Rights and Responsibilities of the Individual (RI) chapter. What are my responsibilities?

A: The chapter captain should be responsible for the following:

• Stay abreast of any changes in standards and EPs for the RI chapter
• Scoring the chapter and providing input to the accreditation director to complete the periodic performance review (PPR).
• Develop education and/or educational tools and/or providing input to those responsible for education
• Developing policies/procedures and/or providing input to ensure compliance with elements of performance requiring policies
• Developing tracer tools
• Conducting tracers, identifying and reporting noncompliance, and resolving issues identified during tracers
• Ask the following questions about documents:
  • Is the patient handbook up-to-date with regard to the RI chapter?
  • Is all posted signage available in another language?
  • Are patient rights and responsibilities signs posted and in another language?
  • Are all applicable forms (e.g., informed consents) up-to-date, available in another language, and at the appropriate level of understanding?
  • Are all applicable policies up-to-date?

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