Links for Legal Rights of
Medical Patients in Massachusetts
Copyright 2012 by Ronald B. Standler
Introduction
My essay
Legal Rights of Medical Patients in
Massachusetts contains quotations from Massachusetts statutes,
citations to Massachusetts cases, and some commentary.
This webpage contains a companion collection of links to other websites
on legal rights of medical patients in Massachusetts.
By way of introduction, I am licensed to practice law in Massachusetts since 1998.
Annotated list of all of my essays on health law.
Disclaimer
This webpage is intended only to present general information about
an interesting topic in law and is not legal advice for your
specific problem.
See my disclaimer.
The following links are provided only as a convenience to readers of these pages.
I receive neither income nor other consideration
as a result of referrals or providing links to any entity.
I make neither representations nor warranties about the contents of the websites
at the following links.
Links to Patients' Legal Rights
Massachusetts Government
- Massachusetts General Laws:
- Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine:
- Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries: (collections of links)
- Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services:
homepage
Complaints
Complaints about physicians and hospitals in Massachusetts can be
directed to:
- The "patient relations" or "patient advocate" office at the hospital.
- Department of Health Care Quality
receives complaints from consumers about hospitals and nursing homes
in Massachusetts.
- Complaints
about physicians in Massachusetts.
Alternate URL for Board of Registration above.
- MassPro receives complaints from
people who use Medicare or Medicaid to pay for their health care, and
offers free mediation services.
- U.S. Government, health and human services, office of
civil rights.
- and, of course, a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice law.
In my opinion, a nurse-attorney has a significant advantage in evaluating
medical evidence and deposing physicians,
compared to attorneys with no education in medicine.
There is no "one-size fits all" approach to complaints about medical services.
Be aware that adverse outcomes in medicine commonly occur without any negligence
by physicians, nurses, or hospitals.
I should mention that I am not a medical malpractice attorney.
I am neither encouraging nor discouraging any specific patient from using
an attorney to engage in mediation, arbitration, or litigation.
This webpage is only sharing information and suggesting options to consider.
Massachusetts Hospitals
The following links to major hospitals in the Boston area, plus
some smaller hospitals with high consumer satisfaction scores,
show a wide variety of information amongst different hospitals.
- Many webpages copy part of Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 111, § 70E,
but, in July 2012, only 4 of the 13 hospitals listed below cite the statute.
The hospitals that do not cite the statute pretend to benevolently give
you rights that are, in fact, required by state law.
- Some hospital webpages give useful information about where to file a grievance.
Not surprisingly, no hospital suggests hiring an attorney!
- A few hospitals appear to have no webpage on patients' rights, but do have
a webpage on privacy and/or a webpage on how to obtain medical records.
For those hospitals without a webpage on patients' rights, I link to the privacy
and records webpages.
U.S. News & World Report has annual rankings for
hospitals nationwide, including
Boston.
this document is at http://www.rbs2.com/prmlinks.htm
first posted 22 July 2012, revised 18 Aug 2012
Annotated list of all of my essays on health law.