Your rights and duties
If you come to our hospital for a treatment or an operation, you have a number of rights and duties. This page explains what your most important rights and duties are.
Your rights as a patient
When you are a patient at our hospital, you have a number of rights.
We can’t treat you without your permission. Before you can give us your permission, you need to be well informed. That’s why we must explain clearly what will happen to you and why.
You have the right to be informed about:
- Your illness or condition.
- The tests that you need to have.
- The treatment that we offer you.
If the information we give you is not clear, please ask your doctor to explain it.
Your medical file contains all the information that is important for your treatment. We are legally obliged to keep a file about you. The only people who can read your file are:
- You.
- Your doctor and other people who treat you.
- Someone who has your official permission, in writing.
No one else can read your medical file.
You can read part of your file online in mijnDiak. If you would like a full copy of your medical file, talk to your doctor about this.
You have the right to read your own file. You can request a full copy of your file, or you can ask to see a specific part.
Is some of the information in your file incorrect, or do you disagree with something? Talk to your doctor about this. You can ask your doctor to correct something, or to delete all or part of your file. Talk to your doctor to find out if this is possible.
We treat your personal information with care and confidentiality. Our medical staff will always protect your privacy. The only people who know about your situation are the people who are involved in your treatment.
They are not allowed to share information about you with your partner, family or friends. They can only do this if they have your permission.
You tell us who we can contact about your illness or treatment. We don’t share information about you with anyone else. We will only give your medical file to other people if you give us permission to do this.
The right to privacy also gives you the right to be treated in private. Other people should not be able to see or hear you while receiving treatment. You can always ask to speak to your doctor in private.
Your duties as a patient
As a patient, there are some things that you must do when you visit our hospital.
You must show us your ID. This is to make sure that we have the right information about you. It also prevents people from using your file and your insurance information for the wrong reasons.
In the Netherlands, patients must show ID when they use medical care. This duty is the same for everyone and also applies to children below the age of 14.
Please bring valid ID with you every time you visit the hospital. Your child must do this too.
Care providers at the hospital must always be sure that they are treating the right patient. The law calls this the ‘duty to verify’. We do this for your safety, so that you get the right tests and treatment.
When you come to our hospital for the first time, we will take your photo. We do this so that you don’t have to show your ID every time you go to a new department. To confirm your identity, our staff can check your photo anywhere in the hospital.
We will ask for your name, your date of birth and other important information more than once during your visit. We do this to make sure that your information is correct, so we can give you the right treatment.
House rules of Diakonessenhuis
At our hospital, we are welcoming and respectful to each other. Because we want everyone to feel safe with us, we have some house rules that everyone must follow.
More information
Your doctor may ask if you want to take part in scientific research. You will always get clear information about this research. Your doctor will tell you what will happen, how long it will take and what the positive and negative effects are for you.
You decide if you want to take part in the research. If you do decide to take part, you can always choose to stop later.
By doing scientific research, we can learn more about illnesses. This helps us to improve our treatments and our care. For that reason, we also share information about illnesses and treatments with national organisations. They use this information to do scientific research.
We never share your name with other organisations. If we do want to share your name, we will always ask your permission.
Do you have questions about how your information is used? Or do you not want us to use your information for scientific research? Please talk to your doctor about this.
When your child is a patient at our hospital, you have special rights. The rights and duties are different for different age groups.
- Read more about children’s rights (in Dutch)
Your doctor may want to take photos of your condition. Your doctor can send you to the medical photographer to take these photos.
- Read more about medical photography (in Dutch)