(Snippets from the frontline)
Making a hospital complaint
As a primary care doctor, I am responsible for admitting patients who are ill. A plan is developed, discussion made with patient and family, and request for necessary consultants to assure thorough care.
When there are problems rendering that care and the patient’s life has been jeopardized, you want your physician to be able to complain within the hospital, and if necessary to hospital oversight agencies to make corrections.
This is no longer possible.
Over the past 10 years, all mechanisms available for doctors to bring complaints to the forefront have been deliberately eliminated:
-doctor complaint phone lines to administrators are a sham with problems falling on deaf ears;
-complaints at hospital meetings are never followed up, and even omitted from the minutes;
-letters to the physician Medical Executive Committee are ignored;
-administration controlled Board of Directors have a biased attitude;
-formal complaints to oversight agencies like The Joint Commission, Medicare, etc. are minimized and downplayed.
I as a physician have no place to go when I recognize or receive hospital complaints.
Neither do my patients and families.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
It seems that physicians have to play also with POLITICS! Physicians are supposed to cure and deal with their patients honestly and with
a HEART, but how can you be honest if you are a POLITICIAN???!!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond.
MemorialCare hospitals have a physician administrator variously called the Chief Medical Officer or Medical Director. While these physicians are compensated by administration, they are doctors who have been in private practice for many years and have gained the clinical respect of their peers. In my case, for example, at Long Beach Memorial, I was in the private practice of OB/Gyn for 35 years before assuming my administrative role as CMO. In that position, I often heard complaints by physicians about one thing or another, and while not all of them could be resolved to the satisfaction of the doctors, at least they had an opportunity to speak to a colleague about it.
MemorialCare also has an on line reporting system, called Memsafe, and while these comments go directly to Risk Management, those involved with physicians go also to the CMO or the Chief of Staff. Admittedly, this system is a little cumbersome to use, but it is available.
Many senior executives have an “open door policy” and are willing to speak to physicians about almost anything.
We are experiencing a major upheaval in the delivery of health care. The business aspects of medicine have assumed more and more attention as reimbursement has declined while expenses continue to climb. There are many underinsured people and many doctors will not or cannot see them in their offices because of these factors. Most doctors just out of training want jobs and a salary, in some cases to repay the huge educational loans they have accrued, and join groups who can provide that. This sometimes creates a tension between the traditional practitioner and the newly minted “‘providers”
I don’t know what the answer is, but I do believe that we, as a profession, will do better if we can participate with hospitals in some way rather than assuming an adversarial position and longing for the way “it used to be”
Hello Dr. Pillsbury
Most of my colleagues from around the country agree with me. I would like to know the process Memorial Care has in place receiving complaints, especially from doctors.
I will be happy to provide space in the SCV Physician Report for your discussion.
Thank you.
Gene
You are speaking for yourself. At the hospitals where I have worked (Memorial Care) there is a clear process to evaluate complaints from doctors, or nurses, or patients. This does not mean that all complaints lead to changes, but every effort is made to evaluate complaints and make adjustments when appropriate.