Innovative Change Proposal
Innovative Change Proposal
It is undeniable that complaints are intrinsic aspects in every working environment in an organization (MetricStream Inc, 2016). In healthcare services, however, complaints are highly critical and always require an immediate resolution. Apparently, the number of patient complaints in our health care quality department continues to rise, and no amicable mechanisms are implemented to resolve this issue. This proposal aims to develop an effective patient resolution policy that will help address this critical concern.
Solution/Benefits: Recommendations
Ideally, the patient resolution policy will promote fast capture and categorization of patient complaints. Also, it will create an efficient system that prioritizes patient complaints, where essential complaints are resolved first. Notably, the complaint resolution mechanism will be comprised of all staffs in the healthcare such as nursing and administration or any other physician that may be present at the location of the patient raising the complaint. Fundamentally, the mechanism will be in line with clinical moral principles and values in the healthcare policy.
Cost Analysis
The most important aspect of this patient resolution mechanism will be its cost effectiveness since no facilities or equipment will be purchased. However, the hospital quality management department will have to allocate much of their quality time analyzing and assessing the complaints.
Implementation Steps
A. Patient Notification
Primarily, the Hospital will notify all our patients, mainly in writing, of their right to report or make complaints and the actual process to make the complaint during the time of admission. The policy will clearly define a Complain/Grievance as an oral or any written manifestation of dissatisfaction or displeasure from the patient relating to the service provided or even cases of mistreatment (Spartels & Buchanan, 2005). A report will be forwarded to all the stakeholders involved regarding this notification, mainly in the form of an email.
Patient Complaints/Grievance
The Staff shall support patients to communicate any complaints to the person involved. Any concern that has not been settled immediately will be directed by staff handling it to the quality management department director for investigation and resolution as complain.
A written content to address the Complain will contain the following elements:
Actual steps taken during investigation
Analyzed results of the investigation
Completed date.
A Complain will be considered as been resolved if the patient becomes satisfied with action undertaken by the hospital quality department. In situations where the hospital takes responsible and appropriate measures to resolve the Complain and the patient are still unsatisfied, the department will consider the Complaint closed.
Responsible Staff
If the Complaint is determined by the director to be a violation of the patient rights or patient care breach, the staff involved shall be held accountable.
Enforcement
All staffs whose responsibilities or actions become affected by the policy will have to comply with it. Any instance of non-compliance or resistance with this policy is directly reported to the designated Patient Complaint Committee and will be subject to relevant performance management according to the applicable policies and procedures, up to and including termination. This approach will ensure that all staffs adhere to their code of responsibility and appropriate patient treatment.
Conclusion
The responsibility of a hospital is not only to provide quality patient care; it is also required to create an environment that meets the grievances of the patients and resolve them accordingly. With such an efficient complaint resolution change in our hospital, it will contribute to creating and building a positive experience with our patients besides resolving the rising cases of patients’ complaints in the hospital. Most importantly, this policy will act as an efficient catalyst in promoting the reputation of the hospital.
References
MetricStream Inc. (2016). Effective complaints management in healthcare- white papers. Retrieved May 21, 2016, from http://www.metricstream.com/whitepapers/html/complaints_management_healthcare.htm
Spartels, D., & Buchanan, L. (2005). Guide to complaint handling in health care services health services review council. Retrieved May 21, 2016, from http://www.health.vic.gov.au/hsc/downloads/complaints_handling.pdf
