Addressing and Resolving Patient's Complaints (Ethical Issues)

2010-07-21T01:08:00.000-07:00

Policy

The Hospital management ensures that ethical issues arising from patient care will handled and acted accordingly. The management believes that whether the patient is satisfied or unsatisfied with the provided services, the institution encourages that every client or patient/ family members are encourage to verbalize their sentiments/ suggestion/ complaints, because it is one way of checking and improving the quality services provided by the institution. For this, the management made a guidelines or procedure in resolving ethical issues.

Purpose

To develop a system of addressing and resolving ethical issues arising from patient care

Responsible person

Admin-HR, Ethics Committee, Department Heads, and Board of Trustees

Procedure

1. Minor Cases (e.g.: problems on courtesy to the patient/family members and etc.)

a. The Service Director (Department Head) receives a copy or copies of patient complaints. The Service Director conducts investigation and analysis of the complaints

b.The Service Director issues a memo to the staff or personnel involved in the complaint, asking him/her to submit a written reaction within 48 hours with respect to the time he/she receives the memo. A copy of patient’s complaint(s) and memo are submitted to the Administrative Director.

c.The Administrative Director set a date for hearing procedures. The HR makes a letter to the Service Director and involve personnel on the date of hearing

d.During the hearing procedures, the Service Director and Administrative Director, notes the validity and consistency of the patient’s complaint(s) and answers of the involve personnel

f.With respect to the rank of the Service Director, he/she will have the authority to make appropriate sanctions to his/her staff involved in the complaints. Sanctions are based on Policy and Procedures on Grounds and Sanctions

g.The Administrative Director and Human Resource Officer validate the sanctions given. The Administrative Director and Human Resource Officer can wave the sanctions given by the Service Director if it is not align with the Policy and Procedures on Grounds and Sanctions and Hospital Protocols

h.As per policy, the sanctions given by the administrators to the involved personnel must be counter check by the hospital legal officer (hospital lawyer)

2. Major Cases (e.g: drug related incidents with minor or major damages,

procedural or surgical activities that have damages and etc.)

a. Complaints on ethical dilemma arising in the course of providing patient care

is received by the Service Director and submitted to the Administrative Director

b. The Administrative Director forwards the case to the Ethics Committee

c. The Ethics Committee collects data and deliberates the issues and make

recommendation to the Hospital President

d. The Hospital President presents the recommendation of the Ethics Committee

to the Board of Trustees

e. The Board of Trustees approves or disapproves the recommendation. Legal

consultation is done to the Hospital Lawyer

f. The President releases the decision of the Board of Trustees to the complainant

and involved personnel and implements the decision.

Addressing And Resolving Patient's Complaints

2010-07-19T04:37:00.000-07:00

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.

Hospital Policies 101

Addressing and Resolving Patient's Complaints (Ethical Issues)

Addressing And Resolving Patient's Complaints