Abstract
Today, despite the efforts of the medical community and healthcare staff along with the advancements in medical technology, patients' dissatisfaction and complaints have been increased. The present study aimed at making a survey on the patients' complaints in a large training hospital affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS). This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on written and verbal complaints of patients and their relatives in a tertiary (specialty and sub-specialty) training hospital. All the recorded patients' complaints, from March to December 2012, were reviewed. Data were categorized and analyzed using descriptive statistics by Microsoft Excel 2007. A total of 233 complaints were reviewed, of which 46.35%, 31.34% and 22.31%, respectively, were verbal, written and made on the phone. The main reasons for complaints were accessibility to medical staff (21.46%), communication failures (20.17%) and dissatisfaction with the provided care (14.59%). Thirty one (13.31%) cases were solved at first place, 194 (83.26%) referred to the complaints from the committee and 3.43% referred to the legal authorities. The average response time was about six to seven days. The findings of the study suggest that sufficient availability of medical staff, improvement in communication skills and paying attention to the patients' needs and expectations may reduce complaints from public health facilities.
Highlights
Today, despite the efforts of the medical community and healthcare staff along with the advancements in medical technology, patients’ dissatisfaction and complaints have been increased
It may be concluded that the complaints were serious or the complaint sides were unable to settle an argument due to the lack of communication skills. Results of another Study has shown that improving communication skills of staff significantly reduced the number of complaints [19]
Manochehri reported that less than 90% of all the complaints including verbal complaints were solved by providing proper explanations in which, 2.1% and 1.3% were solved by verbal apology, and paying compensation, respectively [9]
Summary
Despite the efforts of the medical community and healthcare staff along with the advancements in medical technology, patients’ dissatisfaction and complaints have been increased. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on written and verbal complaints of patients and their relatives in a tertiary (specialty and sub-specialty) training hospital. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that sufficient availability of medical staff, improvement in communication skills and paying attention to the patients’ needs and expectations may reduce complaints from public health facilities. Despite the efforts of medical professionals and advancements in treatment technologies, patients’ dissatisfactions and complaints have been increased [1]. Patient complaint is seen as a certain way of increasing the quality of care, improving physicians’ attention and knowledge, increasing patients’ satisfaction, reducing medical costs, and eventually preserving the sanctity of medical society [6]. Personnel and organizational errors are unavoidable and despite the great efforts of hospital staff, errors and adverse events may occur and lead to patients’ dissatisfaction [7]
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