Client Advocacy & Patient Rights

Patient advocacy means representing the patient's wishes and best interests, especially when they conflict with what family members, providers, or the system might otherwise assume is best — a competent patient's informed, voiced preference takes priority, even if the nurse or family disagrees with the choice, as long as the patient has decision-making capacity and understands the consequences of their decision. Core patient rights include the right to receive care regardless of the ability to pay in an emergency, the right to be informed about their diagnosis and treatment in terms they understand, the right to participate in decisions about their care, the right to refuse treatment, and the right to access their own health information.