SMQT Resident Rights and Dignity 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under resident rights regulations, a resident's right to privacy during personal care means:
- Privacy is only required if the resident requests it verbally
- Staff must ensure doors are closed and the resident is draped appropriately during care (Correct answer)
- Privacy applies only when visitors are present in the facility
- The facility may use open-bay treatment areas if staffing is limited
Correct answer: Staff must ensure doors are closed and the resident is draped appropriately during care
Residents have the right to privacy during personal care, treatment, and bathing, which requires appropriate draping and ensuring doors or curtains are closed.
Question 2: A resident wants to send and receive personal mail without interference. Under CMS regulations, the facility:
- May open mail to screen for contraband if policy permits
- Must permit the resident to send and receive mail unopened (Correct answer)
- Can hold mail until a family member is present to assist
- May read outgoing mail to ensure it does not contain complaints
Correct answer: Must permit the resident to send and receive mail unopened
Residents have the right to send and receive personal mail unopened, and facilities cannot interfere with this communication.
Question 3: When a surveyor observes that a nursing home posts a resident's care schedule on their room door without consent, this is most likely a violation of the resident's right to:
- Refuse treatment
- Privacy and confidentiality of personal and clinical records (Correct answer)
- Participate in care planning
- Choose their own physician
Correct answer: Privacy and confidentiality of personal and clinical records
Publicly posting personal care information without consent violates the resident's right to privacy and confidentiality of their records.
Question 4: A resident asks to use the telephone in private. The facility's only phone is in the nurses' station where staff work. The facility should:
- Deny the request since the phone is a staff tool
- Provide reasonable accommodations for private telephone access (Correct answer)
- Allow the call only if a staff member is present for safety
- Restrict calls to scheduled visiting hours
Correct answer: Provide reasonable accommodations for private telephone access
Residents have the right to private telephone communication, and facilities must make reasonable accommodations to facilitate this.
Question 5: Under OBRA regulations, which of the following best describes a resident's right to receive visitors?
- Visitors may be limited to immediate family members only
- Residents have the right to receive visitors of their choice at any time, subject to reasonable clinical restrictions (Correct answer)
- Visiting hours are entirely within the facility's discretion
- Visitors must be approved by the attending physician before entry
Correct answer: Residents have the right to receive visitors of their choice at any time, subject to reasonable clinical restrictions
Residents have the right to receive visitors of their choosing, and facilities may only impose reasonable, clinically justified restrictions.
Question 6: A resident shares information with a social worker about concerns with their care. The social worker discloses this information to other residents during a group meeting. This violates the resident's right to:
- Freedom from restraint
- Confidentiality of personal information (Correct answer)
- Participate in care planning
- Refuse treatment
Correct answer: Confidentiality of personal information
Disclosing a resident's private concerns to others without consent violates confidentiality protections under resident rights regulations.
Question 7: Regarding a resident's right to share a room with a spouse, CMS regulations state that:
- Room assignments are solely based on clinical need and the facility's discretion
- Spouses who are both residents of the same facility have the right to share a room if they choose (Correct answer)
- Room sharing between spouses requires a physician's order
- Spousal room sharing is only permitted in assisted living settings, not nursing facilities
Correct answer: Spouses who are both residents of the same facility have the right to share a room if they choose
Residents who are married and both reside in the same nursing facility have the regulatory right to share a room if they both consent.
SMQT Resident Rights and Dignity 3
Under resident rights regulations, a resident's right to privacy during personal care means: