Dialysis: the companion area and the patient’s rights

It is the 2025 law requiring the places where dialysis is done to have an area for the companion, separate from the treatment space, and recognising three rights for the patient. What sets it apart from a statement of good intentions is the ending: there is a mandatory poster, a copy of the law available before treatment, a forum to complain to — the Office of the Patient’s Ombudsman — and a fine running from five hundred to ten thousand dollars.

On the person’s side, the rights are recognised for “every person receiving dialysis treatment,” with no further conditions. On the facilities’ side, the duty reaches all Health Service Centers — including but not limited to emergency rooms, preparation or recovery rooms or any place where patients are attended during the dialysis process — that hold the pertinent permits from the Government agencies with competence over the matter. And the law expressly says it applies to both public and private entities.

• To be receiving dialysis treatment. The law recognises the rights for “every person receiving dialysis treatment,” with no additional requirements.Verified against the official source
• For a research or teaching exam or intervention: the written consent of the patient, of the guardian, or of the father and mother with parental authority.Verified against the official source

• The form by which the institution documents in your record that you read the law before treatment. The law requires it but gives it no name or number.

1. 1

   Step 1: There must be an area for the companion

   It is the law’s central duty and it carries a condition worth quoting whole. The centres “must have an area enabled for the companions of patients undergoing dialysis. This area shall be independent from the space where treatment is provided to patients.” Independent from the treatment space: it is not a chair beside the machine, and it is not the absence of an area either.

2. 2

   Step 2: Public and private alike

   The law says it in its first article and heads off the most common argument: it shall apply “to both public and private entities where health care services are offered in Puerto Rico.” The centre being private does not take it out of the law.

3. 3

   Step 3: And it is not only the dialysis centre

   The list of places is broader than assumed: “All Health Service Centers, including but not limited to emergency rooms, preparation or recovery rooms or any place where patients are attended during the dialysis process, and which hold the pertinent permits from the Government of Puerto Rico agencies with competence over the matter.” Emergency room and recovery room are named.

4. 4

   Step 4: The patient’s three rights

   Here they are in full because the second is the most overlooked. Every person receiving dialysis treatment shall have the right: “to be treated respectfully and with dignity”; “not to be subjected to any exam or intervention whose purpose is research or teaching, except with the written consent of the patient, guardian or their father and mother with parental authority”; and “that the patient, their guardian or their parents receive adequate counselling and information about the care they require.” Consent for research or teaching must be in writing.

5. 5

   Step 5: Look for the 17-by-24-inch poster

   The law gives it dimensions and a place, which makes it easy to claim. The Department of Health prepares the informational material “on a 17" x 24" poster” and distributes it to the facilities or makes it available electronically for download or printing. And all hospitals, health centres, recovery rooms or dialysis treatment centres, public and private, “must post in a prominent place the 17" x 24" poster setting out the tenets of Article 3 of this Act.” If it is not there, there is something to claim.

6. 6

   Step 6: A copy of the law before treatment, and a signature in the record

   This is the step most people do not know about and it happens before the session starts. “Hospitals shall keep a copy of this Act available so the dialysis patient may examine it before receiving their treatment. Likewise, the institution shall document in its record that the patient has read it by means of the corresponding form.” That is: they must put it in front of you beforehand, and it is recorded in your file.

7. 7

   Step 7: Where you complain and how much the fine is

   The law names a forum and sets a figure, which is exactly what many bills of rights lack. “The Office of the Patient’s Ombudsman shall be empowered to receive, address and dispose of the complaints filed, as well as to investigate any action violating the rights established in this Act. Any violation of this Act’s provisions shall carry a fine of no less than five hundred (500) dollars and no more than ten thousand (10,000) dollars.”

8. 8

   Step 8: What the Department of Health owes

   Worth knowing if the centre claims nothing reached it. It is the Department’s responsibility “to promulgate the rules and regulations necessary for compliance with and implementation of this Act,” and further “to make it known in all hospitals, health centres, recovery rooms or places where dialysis patients are attended, both public and private.” To that end it prepares the informational material “fully illustrating the tenets of Article 3.”

There is nothing to apply for: the companion area, the poster and the copy of the law are the facility’s duties, and the material is prepared by the Department of Health. If any of them is not met, the law names the Office of the Patient’s Ombudsman as empowered to receive, address and dispose of complaints and investigate the action. How to file a complaint with the Patient’s Ombudsman has its own guide here, as does the patient’s bill of rights in general.

• Accepting there is nowhere to wait: the law requires an area enabled for companions, independent from the treatment space.
• Believing a private centre is exempt: the law applies to both public and private entities.
• Thinking it only covers dialysis centres: the law also names emergency rooms and preparation or recovery rooms.
• Allowing a research or teaching exam without signing: the law requires consent expressed in writing.
• Not looking for the poster: the law requires a 17" x 24" one posted in a prominent place with the Article 3 rights.
• Not asking for the copy of the law before treatment: hospitals must have it available to examine beforehand.
• Staying silent about a breach: the law empowers the Office of the Patient’s Ombudsman and sets a fine of $500 to $10,000.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico

  Salud

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov