Medical care and mental health care are a cooperative venture for patients/clients and health care providers. You, as a patient/client, and Cougar Health Services (CHS) and its providers and staff have specific rights and responsibilities in relationship to each other.

As a patient/client, you have rights.

  1. The right to file a grievance regarding your care or treatment without being retaliated against.
    • Medical Clinic:  Please contact at CHS medical director by phone at 509-335-3575 or by mail at Cougar Health Services, PO Box 642303, Pullman, WA 99164-2303, to submit a concern regarding the quality of your care or treatment.
    • Counseling and Psychological Services: Please contact the CAPS director by phone at 509-335-4511 or by mail at Counseling and Psychological Services, Cougar Health Services, PO Box 642302, Pullman, WA 99164-2302, to submit a concern regarding the quality of your care or treatment.
  2. The right to make suggestions and/or file complaints regarding CHS services. Please contact Joseph Santos, Quality Assurance and Compliance Coordinator at 509-335-6279 or by mail at Cougar Health Services, PO Box 642303, Pullman, WA 99164-2302, to submit a suggestion/complaint. You may also obtain a suggestion/complaint form at the CHS reception counter; you can complete the form and place it in one of the suggestion/complaint boxes located throughout the facility. Anonymous and confidential reporting are available 24/7 through telephonic and web-based channels. Please call 1-855-252-7606 or visit www.hotline-services.com
  3. The right to humane care and treatment. You will be treated with respect, consideration, and dignity. You can expect that your personal convictions and beliefs will be taken into account when you seek help and that the convictions and beliefs of CHS providers and/or staff will not adversely affect your right to appropriate care.
  4. The right to appropriate privacy.
  5. The right to interpreter services so you or your companion can effectively communicate with CHS providers and/or staff.
  6. The right to a trained medical chaperone to accompany you during sensitive exams or procedures.
  7. The right to the confidentiality of your records (see medical record section) and health information. You have a right not to have your health information discussed in any place where it might be overheard by others. Patient disclosures and records are treated confidentially, and patients are given the opportunity to approve or refuse their release, except when release is required or authorized by law.
  8. The right to accurate information, to the extent known, concerning diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and prognosis of an illness or health-related condition. This includes the right to accurate written information about drug products or drug treatment for an illness. It will include appropriate alternatives to health service care. When it is medically inadvisable to give such information to a patient, the information is provided to a person designated by the patient or to a legally authorized person.
  9. The right to participate in decisions involving your health care and make informed medical decisions in accordance with the law.
  10. The right to receive medical care or treatment in a safe environment, and free from abuse or neglect. Medical chaperones are available upon request and in accordance with CHS policy.  For sensitive medical exams, you may request a medical chaperone according to gender or sex.
  11. The right to a second opinion regarding diagnosis or treatment. This includes seeking consultation with other providers and the right to change providers if other qualified providers are available. (Consultation outside CHS is the financial responsibility of the)
  12. The following information is available to patients and staff:
    • Patient/client rights, including those specified in points 1-5 above
    • Patient/client conduct and
    • Services available at CHS.
    • Provisions for after-hours and emergency care are
    • Fees for services are available upon
    • Billing and payment information is available on the CHS’s website.
    • The right to be informed of any research aspect of your care and to refuse to participate. Such refusal will not jeopardize your access to medical care and treatment.
    • When CHS is provided with advance directives, this document will be scanned and stored in the patient’s medical record.
    • The right to know who is counseling, caring for, or treating you. Credentials of health care providers are posted on a reader board in the CHS’s medical clinic lobby, and professional qualifications should be visible on each provider’s or staff’s person or stated on
  13. The right to accurate marketing and/or advertising materials regarding the competence and capabilities of CHS.

As a patient/student, you have responsibilities.

  1. To provide complete and accurate information to the best of your ability about your health, any medications, including over-the-counter products and dietary supplements, allergies or sensitivities, and any chronic conditions.
  2. To follow the agreed-upon treatment plan prescribed by your provider and participate in your care.
  3. To provide a responsible adult to transport you home and remain with you as directed by the provider or indicated in the discharge instructions.
  4. To inform your provider about any living will, medical power of attorney, or other directives that could affect your care.
  5. To show courtesy and respect to CHS health care providers, staff, student trainees, volunteers, and other students.
  6. To not lend your personal identification (student ID card) to others. Lending your ID card may lead to inaccurate or false entries in your medical chart It may also qualify as health care fraud subjecting you to civil or criminal liability.
  7. To keep your appointments. Please cancel or reschedule as far in advance as possible, so that another patient/student needing care may be seen.
  8. To properly safeguard all prescribed medications and not give medication prescribed for you to others.
  9. To communicate with your healthcare provider if your condition worsens or does not follow the expected course. We will contact you if there is any unexpected result from the tests.
  10. To accept personal financial responsibility for any charges not covered by your insurance and pay for services billed to your account in a timely manner.

We keep a record of the healthcare services we provide you.

You may ask us to see and copy your treatment record. You may also ask us to correct that record. We will not disclose your record to others unless you direct us to do so or unless the law authorizes or compels us to do so. You may get more information about your treatment records at the CHS’s reception desk. Treatment records are not shared with parents, professors, administrators, or potential employers except as authorized by law.

  • Parents. Should parents request information from CHS they will be told to contact you for the desired information. Only when authorized by law (i.e., written authorization from you) or in emergency circumstances (i.e., life-threatening emergency) may your treatment records be disclosed directly to your parents.
  • Professors and administrators. Should faculty members or administrators request information regarding your health, they will be told to contact you for the desired information. You may want to discuss directly with the Access Center and/or a faculty member or administrator any circumstances in which a health problem or treatment may influence your attendance, academic performance, or status.
  • Potential employers, graduate schools, professional schools. Information from health records will not be supplied in answer to requests for information when it appears that this information will be used for screening for employment, school admission, or other non-medical purposes unless you specifically authorize us to do so. We recognize that some routine authorizations in these circumstances may be obtained under duress, actual or implied, so this prohibition against the release of information will be observed unless you give specific written instructions defining the nature of the information to be released.

No Surprises Act – Effective January 1, 2022

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.

Under new federal law, Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act, health care providers must provide patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance (self-pay) an estimate of their bill for health care items and services before those items or services are provided.

  • You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any health care items or services upon request or when scheduling such items or services. This includes related costs like medical procedures, prescription drugs, diagnostic tests, and lab fees.
  • If you schedule a health care item or service at least three (3) business days in advance, make sure your health care provider or facility gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing within one (1) business day after scheduling. If you schedule a health care item or service at least ten (10) business days in advance, make sure your health care provider or facility gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing within three (3) business days after scheduling. You can also ask any health care provider or facility for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service. If you do, make sure the healthcare provider or facility gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing within three (3) business days after you ask.
  • If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
  • Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers, email FederalPPDRQuestions@cms.hhs.gov, or call 1-800-985-3059.