How to Register a Complaint in a Hospital

July 28, 2013 - PRLog -- Hospitals are busy places. And like most organizations, there are employees who excel at their jobs, and those who get by. Many of us can look back and recall that wonderful nurse who went the extra mile, who stroked mom’s hand reassuringly…who we thought of as our personal guardian angel.

And then there are the few who act as if it compassion were an imposition. What steps can you take when you want to file a complaint in a hospital?

On two occasions, on a recent hospital stay, my mom was in pain and her pleas were ignored. I later found out that the nurse on duty did not feel additional medication was appropriate. And it wasn’t a subjective judgment; she was correct. It was too soon for more meds. But the way she handled it was entirely wrong. She never spoke to my mom directly–nor to anyone at her bedside for that matter–and take a few minutes to explain why she needed to wait a bit. Or perhaps to re-position her in her bed so she was not pressing so much on the hip that she had just been operated on. She just ignored her. She was busy elsewhere. Of course the anxiety this produced only exacerbated my mom’s pain. She should have been treated as an individual–instead it felt as if she were perceived as a nuisance.

How to register a complaint in a hospital


Start with the doctor:

When you’re unhappy with the care your loved one is receiving from hospital staff, speak to the doctor overseeing her case, first. Be able to offer specifics on an incident or person who you are having difficulty with. Perhaps mom isn’t being walked twice a day and you are tired of chasing down busy nurses who can’t be bothered calling the physical therapist themselves. Or perhaps the pain meds on the schedule he prescribed aren’t doing the trick. Often this is enough to effect action. The doctor can speak to that department directly and make sure his orders are followed.

Use the hospital’s system:

Most hospitals have patient advocates or ombudsmen you can ask to speak with when you have a complaint in a hospital. These people are trained to investigate your complaint and do their best to resolve it; this may be quicker than trying to contact her doctor if he is not returning your call right away.

Speak to the Head Honcho:

Every hospital also has a Director of Nursing who will address your concerns immediately, especially if the patient advocate system has provided no relief.

As a last resort:

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations will take your complaint seriously, and investigate the situation–even after the fact. Fill out this online Joint Commission Online Complaint Form. Unfortunately by that time it’s too late to help your loved one. The hospital must be accredited through JCAHO, however, almost every hospital is. If you are really unable to get the hospital to take your complaint seriously, just mentioning to the hospital staff or director of nursing that you plan to call the Joint Commission usually solves the problem in a snap.

Other places to register a complaint in a hospital, either during treatment or after the fact:

Contact the New York State Department of Health at 1-800-804-5447 if you feel you received poor treatment at a hospital, diagnostic facility or clinic. The Dept. of Health is not where you register a complaint about a doctor in private practice. Go to complaints about a New York State doctor. Or, to file a hospital complaint, fill out this Department of Health Facility Complaint form where you can describe in detail the type of problem(s) you experienced, from trouble getting copies of medical records, to nursing care issues, to patient safety and medical care problems, etc. The only billing issues they address are those related to financial assistance.

If you are on Medicare and are unhappy with the quality of care you received in a hospital, skilled nursing facility or doctor’s office–perhaps you didn’t receive the proper diagnosis or treatment, you got the wrong medication, unnecessary procedures and tests, or you were discharged too soon–call IPRO, a Medicare Quality Improvement Organization, toll-free at 1-800-331-7767, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Calls left after hours will be returned the next business day. If you believe you or your loved one was discharged prematurely, visit their Appeal a Discharge page to file your complaint.

Even though it won’t help your loved one to file a complaint after he or she is released, your input is taken very seriously. The Centralized Hospital Intake Program must investigate your complaint and report back to you; you are helping to improve the quality of service and also helping the next patient avoid unnecessary grief.

To learn more about how to handle medical and financial issues in New York State, visit http://seniorbenefitsguide.com.