Date of Last Review 10/14/10
Date of Last Review 9/2/11
SME: Patient Relations Manager
PURPOSE
Patient/Family complaints arising within UT-HCPC or about UT-HCPC’s processes shall be dealt with efficiently and in a manner which affords fairness to all parties.
APPLICATION
Patients, their families and visitors are encouraged to discuss any concerns they may have about clinical care or hospital processes with their treatment team, unit nursing or other appropriate service area staff. If preferred, they may complete an Occurrence Report form to be submitted for consideration.
All complainants are treated with respect, sensitivity and confidentiality.
All complaints are handled without prejudice. The emphasis shall be on resolving the problem.
Service area staff shall be aware of their responsibility to receive concerns and are empowered to make initial resolution whenever possible.
Complainants shall not be retaliated against
Objectives
Assist health services with the timely and effective management of complaints/compliments
Establish a standard approach to complaint management utilizing the Patient Relations “ISight” software program as required.
Ensure service staff awareness to their responsibilities regarding complaint resolution
CONFIDENTIALITY
Complaints must be dealt with confidentially and all complainants treated courteously.
Personal information in individual complaints is kept confidential and is only made available to those who need it
for complaint management and resolution.
Receiving and Resolving Complaints
Point of Service Responsibility:
Manager of Patient Relations
Key areas of responsibility include:
Clinicians and hospital staff who are able to resolve complaints at this initial point of service should do so without utilization of “Isight” complaint management responses.
Nursing Units:
Sensitive Issues
Complaints regarding sensitive issues (treatment, medication, complaints against staff attitudes, safety, access/visitation, personal property, patient record) shall remain with patient’s nursing unit and be entered into Isight software and readily resolved by that unit. Other sensitive issues (patient rights, A/N/E) or discharge planning shall be entered into “Isight” complaint management processes by the nursing unit and referred to Patient Relations or Social Services, respectively, for case management and resolution.
Other Patient Issues
Other complaints received by nursing units (examples: maintenance, environment, food/nutrition, discharge planning, patient groups, staff attitudes from other service area) shall be routed by nursing to the HCPC “COPES” department via written Occurrence Report form for COPES entry into “Isight” complaint management and routing to the appropriate hospital service via utilization of “Isight” resolution and complaint management processes.
Patient Registration and Lobby:
Concerns regarding lobby, patient registration, and billing issues shall be resolved with firsthand use of “Isight” software by the HCPC Director or Financial Operations Manager or via “Isight” referral from HCPC COPES or Patient Relations.
Frivolous Complaints
Frivolous complaints are those matters that are clearly insufficient in substance, not associated with emergent physical health issues, or are not calculated to lead to any practical result and having one or more of the following characteristics:
Essentially illogical, e.g. no cause or relationship is effectively established between an alleged act and its alleged consequences |
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Most logically impossible, requires a great deal of faith to agree to the likelihood, e.g. the complainant alleges they have become caught in a web of conspiracy. |
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Can be often characterized by the complainant ignoring requests to provide specific information to back up the original, somewhat illogical,complaint. |
References
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