**PATIENT BILL OF RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES** Cline Pediatrics dedicated to honoring and safeguarding the rights of our patients and their families. We strive to deliver care is respectful of cultural, racial, religious, and national differences.

**Our Responsibilities** - We will treat our patients and their families with respect and dignity. - We will provide high-quality care to all patients. - We will empower our patients and their families to make informed decisions regarding their health care. - We will honor the privacy of our patients and their families. We will maintain the confidentiality of our patients' medical records in compliance with Texas law. - Our staff will introduce themselves while caring for our patients. - We will assist our patients and their families in understanding how to access our after hours.

**Patient/Family Responsibilities** - Share important health information regarding or your child, including symptoms, treatments, medications, and other illnesses. - Inform us if are dissatisfied with the care provided to you or your child. - Familiarize yourself with your or your child’s health insurance to ensure timely payment of bills. - Respect rights of other patients, families, and Cline Pediatrics staff.

**POLICY ON ADOLESCENT CONFIDENTIALITY** Teenagers are learning to be independent and responsible for their own health, though they still benefit from parental involvement in their healthcare. Many adolescents are generally healthy but may have concerns they prefer not to discuss with family or friends. Surveys indicate that a significant reason avoid seeing a doctor or nurse practitioner is due to privacy concerns. At Cline Pediatrics, we prioritize the care of our teenage patients, involves a different approach during their visits compared to younger children.

**Our Responsibilities** - Each teen visit will start with both the parent and teenager present, allowing parents to ask questions share vital health information. - Starting around age 13, after initial discussions, parents will be asked to step out for part of the visit. This private time the doctor or nurse practitioner encourages teens to ask questions and address private issues. - During physical examinations, may opt to have a parent, a nurse, or just the doctor present. - Conversations between the teenager and the doctor or nurse practitioner are confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone. - If significant medical issues arise, we will encourage the teenager to discuss them with their doctor or nurse practitioner and their parents. - We will only communicate a parent about private matters in rare situations where a teenager’s health or is at risk, and we will inform the teenager beforehand. We routinely conduct confidential testing for all adolescent patients, as recommended by the Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control. These tests may appear on your insurance. According to Texas law, we cannot discuss the results of these tests with parents. At the conclusion of the visit, the doctor or nurse practitioner will reconvene with both the parent and teenager to provide updates and develop plans to ensure the ongoing health of our teenage patients.