Timely Resolution and Sustainable Improvement: TEGH Patient Relations Process

In 2006, TEGH embarked on an overhauling of the complaint process to move to a more responsive model. In the new process, complaint resolution is the responsibility of the Manager of the patient care area where the incident occurred (or in some cases the Physician named in the complaint). The Patient Relation Consultant receives and documents the complaint, and then forwards the report to the appropriate Manager or Physician for review and resolution. Timelines for acknowledgement and resolution are clearly outlined in the Patient Feedback Management Policy, which includes a 21 day resolution benchmark. The process has helped to improve the efficiency of the complaint process and we are now averaging 10-15 day resolution times for all complaints. A particularly useful function of the patient complaint software that supports the process is the use of auto-reporting. These auto-reports are generated and sent out on a weekly basis to all file “owners” as a reminder to complete open files. Any complaint files that remain unresolved for over 21 days are brought to the attention of the Director of Quality and the Vice-President of Support Services for their assistance to leverage resolution. A highlight of the new process is that in addition to resolving the complaint with the individual involved, the responsible Manager is encouraged to create targeted improvement initiatives in their unit to mitigate any gaps in service identified during the complaint investigation.