Rights and Responsibilities

We​ respect your rights as a patient and recognize that you are an individual with unique health care needs. As your partners in preventive oral health, we have identified specific rights you can expect while in our care.​

Patient Bill of Rights

The students, faculty and staff of El Centro College strive to provide each patient with a high quality of care in the Dental Hygiene Clinic. As our patient, you are entitled to:

• considerate, respectful and confidential care;
• continuity and completion of treatment;
• access to complete and current information about his/her condition;
• advance knowledge of the cost of treatment;
• informed consent;
• an explanation of recommended treatment, treatment alternatives, the option to refuse treatment or the risk of not treatment, and expected outcomes of various treatments;
• treatment that meets the standard of care in the profession;
  
• outcomes of treatment options, and the cost of treatment;​​

Patient Responsibilities

These responsibilities can be exercised on the patient’s behalf by a parent or legal guardian if the patient is a minor, lacks decision-making capacity, or is legally incompetent.

• The patient is responsible for providing, to the best of his/her knowledge, accurate and complete information about past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters related to his/her health status.
• The patient must take responsibility for requesting additional information or clarification about his/her dental health or health status or treatment when he/she does not fully understand information and instructions.
• A medical consultation from a health care provider may be needed prior to receiving treatment at the dental hygiene clinic
• The patient is responsible for his/her actions if he/she refuses treatment or does not follow the instructions of the provider. It is the patient’s responsibility to inform dentists, dental hygienists, and other caregivers of anticipated problems in following prescribed treatment, including follow-up treatment instructions.
• The patient has a responsibility to keep appointments at the scheduled time; when unable to do so, provide a 48-hour notice if they need to reschedule their appointments.
• The patient will be respectful and considerate of all Dallas College dental hygiene employees and students. Any unbecoming behavior will result in dismissal from the dental hygiene clinic.

We deeply value your role in supporting our clinic and the education of future dental hygiene professionals. As a free clinic, our ability to serve as many patients as possible depends on everyone honoring their scheduled appointment times.

To ensure fairness and maximize access to care:

• Patients who frequently arrive late, leave early, reschedule appointments, or miss appointments will be offered appointments on a cancellation-only basis.

​Your cooperation helps us maintain a well-functioning clinic and provide quality care to all. Thank you for your understanding and support of our mission.