My advice (after working in health care facilities, accredited by the joint commission), is to make a formal complaint through the Patient Services or Patient Resources department of the hospital first, as this is where the changes need to occur.
You can go to your hospital's webpage, and search for the correct place to make your complaint, either using the words "patient", "complaint", "concern" or "quality". The department is usually under a title such as "Quality Assurance" or "Patient Representative". They should be very open to receiving your feedback, and to correct/resolve the matter. Some hospitals have an online complaint form, and a phone number for you to follow-up.
The Joint Commission (JCAHO) would be the next step if your complaint is not resolved after first speaking with the hospital and making the formal complaint. Be specific with the hospital about how you want this remedied.
Let us know if you have trouble finding this form; you can also call the hospital and ask them what the process is to make a formal complaint.
FYI-- here are some of JCAHO's favorite terms (and, the hospital will recognize them; possibly take your complaint more seriously, as you have identified their areas of weakness).
Below are the "National Patient Safety Goals" and (basic standards of care) from JCAHO that relate to your situation:
- Improve the accuracy of patient identification(mix up between patients)
- Timely Reporting of Critical Tests and Critical Results(MRI test not conducted in timely manner, as equipment was broken and did not refer to another facility)
- Managing Hand–Off Communications(inconsistency between doctors)
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My advice (after working in health care facilities, accredited by the joint commission), is to make a formal complaint through the Patient Services or Patient Resources department of the hospital first, as this is where the changes need to occur.
You can go to your hospital's webpage, and search for the correct place to make your complaint, either using the words "patient", "complaint", "concern" or "quality". The department is usually under a title such as "Quality Assurance" or "Patient Representative". They should be very open to receiving your feedback, and to correct/resolve the matter. Some hospitals have an online complaint form, and a phone number for you to follow-up.
The Joint Commission (JCAHO) would be the next step if your complaint is not resolved after first speaking with the hospital and making the formal complaint. Be specific with the hospital about how you want this remedied.
Let us know if you have trouble finding this form; you can also call the hospital and ask them what the process is to make a formal complaint.
FYI-- here are some of JCAHO's favorite terms (and, the hospital will recognize them; possibly take your complaint more seriously, as you have identified their areas of weakness).
Below are the "National Patient Safety Goals" and (basic standards of care) from JCAHO that relate to your situation:
- Improve the accuracy of patient identification (mix up between patients)
- Timely Reporting of Critical Tests and Critical Results (MRI test not conducted in timely manner, as equipment was broken and did not refer to another facility)
- Managing Hand–Off Communications (inconsistency between doctors)
Hope this helps!
February 19, 2009 - 3:06pmThis Comment
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