Monday, July 19, 2010

Addressing And Resolving Patient's Complaints

Policy

The Hospital Administration must determine patients or patient’s watcher complaints for proper actions. All department heads (Administrative Director, Medical Director, Chief Nurse, Ancillary Director) and staffs should participate in resolving these complaints by instituting measures that will result in patient satisfaction and improvement of services of the institution. As part of the campaign, it is mandated that the president will act as the overall head in finding solutions to these complaints.


Purpose

1. Established guidelines to address and resolve patients complaints
2. Enforce proper actions and sanctions
3. Complaint(s) will be use as basis for improvement

Responsible Person

Quality Assurance Committee, President, Department Heads and Staffs

Materials

Complaints in the survey forms, Verbal and Written complaints

Procedure:

1. How to address and resolve verbal complaints coming from the patient or patient’s watcher?

a. Sometimes verbal complaints coming from the patient or patient’s watcher can be in a form of insult to personality and to the institution. Still it is mandated that all employee should respond in a professional way by showing respect and being humble. Employees who receive or heard the complaints must validate if the statements given by the patient or patient's watcher are consistent within the context of their complaints

b. The hospital staff direct the patient or patient's watcher to the Department head for documentation of verbal complaints or instruct the patient or patient's watcher to put into writings all their complaints.

c. All documented complaints must be held confidential and must be submitted to the administrative office for safe keeping

d. If the documented complaint is referring to other department, the concern department head must be notified. (e.g.: patient made a complain to the nurse that the medical technologist was incompetent in extracting blood sample resulting to tissue trauma. The Chief Nurse as the department head or the Administrative Director must inform the head of laboratory of the complaint).

e. Resolutions to the complaint must be in accordance to its validity and gravity and it should be referred to the Administrative Director. Verbal complain that was not documented can be considered as here say statement, thus, it is invalid and no appropriate actions will be given. If the complaint was documented, validated and there was or were actual incompetence or neglect of duty, actions will be based on the institutional policy and procedures on grounds and sanctions. Principle of Responde Superior can also be applied in giving sanctions

f. Resolution of the complaint can also be handled by the department head depending on the gravity of the complain.

2. How to address and resolve written complaints coming from the patient or patient’s watcher?

a. If the complaint was written in the survey form

  • The Administrative Director will call for a meeting for those departments that has low or bad performance for them to be aware. Comments or complains coming from the patient will be noted or acted accordingly.
  • Resolutions to the complain must be in accordance to its validity and gravity. If the complaints were validated properly and there was or were actual incompetence or neglect of duty , actions will be based on the institutional policy and procedures on grounds and sanctions.


1 comment:

  1. You must be genius in your field... great post. Keep posting.... ;-)

    ReplyDelete