Resolving Patient Complaints

Using a clear, straightforward approach, this book provides a patient-oriented approach to complaint handling that can be used by all staff in an office, clinic, or system. Readers will learn how to develop a system for documenting patient complaints and comments, As well as strategies for monitoring and analyzing the information documented by patient claims. Other tools include a mechanism for changing behaviors of health care providers and improving delivery systems, strategies for dealing with difficult and abusive patients, and sample scripted transcripts for dealing with the most common types of complaints heard by health care practitioners. With a solid service recovery system in place, health care organizations and practices can meet accreditation agency standards for grievance processes, and, As a result, greatly reduce risk management claims. Resolving Patient Complaints: A Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Service Recovery provides managers, physicians, and employees with the skills and tools necessary to implement a service recovery process to respond to and review patient complaints and concerns about quality of care. Author Liz Osborne draws on her 15 years of experience as manager of a patient relations department in a large HMO to give expert advice on addressing patient dissatisfaction appropriately and effectively.

Service recovery and hospital complaint-handling are not a favorite subject among healthcare employees. Yet, if we learn to reframe complaints, we can embrace them as a second chance to make things right for the people we serve. And the fact is, every employee is the first point of contact for one complaint or another. Ideally, every person in your organization should be adept at handling complaints, so they can nip complaints in the bud. This booklet is a straightforward guide to handling complaints effectively. Designed for the frontline employee, it explores the basics of identifying the problem, listening, exploring options, following through and getting the right people involved. This is a great tool for managers and educators to use with staff to develop positive attitudes and concrete skills for turning dissatisfaction into satisfaction through effective communication.