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RESPONDING TO COMPLAINTS & CONCERNS: A Letter Writing Guide for Healthcare Prov

RESPONDING TO COMPLAINTS & CONCERNS: A Letter Writing Guide for Healthcare Providers and Administrators January 2017 March 2017 If you would like this document in a different format, such as print, please contact us: riskmanagement@hiroc.com or communications@hiroc.com Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada www.hiroc.com Head Office 4711 Yonge St, Suite 1600 Toronto, Ontario M2N 6K8 Tel: 416.733.2773 Toll Free: 1.800.465.7357 riskmanagement@hiroc.com Western Region 1200 Rothesay St. Winnipeg, Manitoba R2G 1T7 Tel: 204.943.4125 Toll Free: 1.800.442.7751 westernregion@hiroc.com Disclaimer/Terms of Use: This is a resource for quality assurance and risk management purposes and is not intended to provide legal or medical advice. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at time of publication. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword from HIROC 3 Introduction 4 When things go wrong 4 Why individuals complain 5 Four easy steps to putting things right when a complaint is received 6 The complaint response letter layout 7 Keep these tips in mind 8 Sample statements for the complaint/concern response letter 9 Writing the complaint/concern response letter 11 Writing the complaint/concern response letter to a challenging individual 17 Final thoughts 17 Additional Resources 18 Foreword from HIROC For the majority of healthcare recipients, their experience of the care and service you provide is positive and appreciated. But when things go wrong and dissatisfaction or unmet expectations result, how people and organizations respond determines not just how the individual will feel, but says a lot about your organization’s culture. Responding to complaints and concerns is an opportunity to acknowledge the incident and learn from what went wrong. This guide is written for all types and sizes of healthcare organizations and provides useful and practical information about writing effective response letters. Taking steps to improve how your organization responds in writing to complaints shows patients/clients, families and staff that you are always open to feedback and improvement. Please bear in mind as you read this guide that it is important to comply with any applicable privacy legislation throughout the process of considering and responding to a complaint. 3 Written responses to complaints are producible in legal proceedings. They should be drafted with the assumption they could appear in a courtroom, be posted on social media or appear on the front page of the newspaper. Introduction We know your organization does more things right than wrong. But when things do go wrong and there are misunderstandings, a response is required. From our work with providers of healthcare, we know how important listening and learning is to safe, considerate and appropriate care. It is also a critical way to avoid future problems. Ideally, the best scenario is to meet with the person who has a complaint, but that is not always possible or practical. With that in mind, we have created this guide to help you and your staff compose written responses to the concerns of individuals. The information and tips will assist you in writing letters that are not just perfunctory responses to complaints, but an indication of how your organization cultivates a culture of openness and feedback. We hope you will find this information useful. We encourage the early involvement of your organization’s risk management personnel in this process. HIROC’s Healthcare Risk Management Department is also available to provide assistance. Please note references to “individual(s)” in this document encompass anyone who receives health services across the continuum of care (e.g. client, patient, family and resident). When things go wrong Jennifer White’s story relays the importance of thoughtful and empathetic written responses to complaints. Having written a complaint letter to the hospital about what she described as “attitude” from some of the nursing staff during her post-operative stay, Jennifer was extremely disappointed and dissatisfied with the dismissive tone of the hospital’s response letter. There was neither an explanation nor an apology mentioned leaving Jennifer with an unsettled feeling that perhaps this type of behaviour was condoned at the hospital. A friend of Jennifer’s shared a similar experience chalking it up to the overall culture of the organization. Davis Bannon’s experience was completely different from Jennifer’s when he complained to the community care agency about difficulties he and his wife had encountered getting consistent service providers in to care for his ventilator-dependant daughter. After several months of frustration, Davis felt compelled to write a letter of complaint to the agency. The response letter Davis received back was apologetic and caring, leaving Davis with an immediate sense of relief. The letter offered several solutions to alleviate the problem with clear timelines for implementation. Davis was left with the sense that he had been acknowledged and respected. 4 Why individuals complain There are many reasons why individuals complain to healthcare organizations. They may: • be seeking information about and/ or an apology for a negative or unexpected outcome. • want reassurance that action will be taken to reduce the likelihood that a similar incident will happen again. • want someone to be held accountable for what happened. • want compensation for the perceived harm. No matter what the cause, unmet expectations, poor communication and a level of dissatisfaction are often at the root of these complaints. 5 Early acknowledgement is pivotal in preventing a minor concern from escalating into a formal complaint. 1. Acknowledge the complaint as quickly as possible. Adhere to a response timeframe (as outlined in an organizational policy or guideline) and communicate when the individual(s) can expect to receive a reply. Be mindful of legislated response-time requirements if these exist in your province or territory. Prolonging a reply to a verbal or written complaint/ concern, may erode trust and antagonize the individual. A timely response informs the individual the organization has received the information and takes it seriously. If for any reason, a delay in responding is anticipated, let the individual know when he/she is most likely to receive a reply. 2. Investigate. Investigate to obtain facts related to the subject matter of the complaint using documentation (such as the health record/incident report) and/or discussing with pertinent staff. And do it quickly – memories fade and people forget crucial details. The scope of the investigation will vary depending on the particulars of the complaint. Remember as you conduct the investigation and prepare a response that personal health information can only be disclosed in accordance with applicable privacy law. 3. Respond in person or writing. Wherever possible, invite the individual who brought the complaint/ concern forward to have a conversation. Writing a letter is not a replacement for the face- to-face meeting. While not always practical, this is optimal. In a face-to- face meeting, you can quickly establish what the individual or family is feeling and what they see as a suitable outcome, giving you the opportunity to appropriately respond to the situation. If a face- to-face meeting is not possible – or desired by the aggrieved party – a written response is essential. In fact, many people will not let the matter rest until they receive a written response. 4. Always follow-up whether in person or in writing. If the matter can be resolved immediately in-person or over the phone, a written response should be sent as a follow- up to summarize and expand upon your prior discussion and confirm any agreed-upon actions. Following up makes individuals feel appreciated rather than ignored and that you are interested in what they had to say. If a written response has been sent in lieu of a face-to-face meeting (not possible/desired by the aggrieved party), further follow-up in writing is not indicated. 3 1 Acknowledge 2 Investigate Respond 4 Follow-up Four easy steps to putting things right when a complaint letter is received: 6 SAMPLE May 20, 2016. Dear Mrs. Smith re: Recent visit to Emergency Department Thank you for your letter of May 10, 2016 regarding your recent experience in our Emergency Department. Clearly our care did not meet your expectations with a prolonged wait, lack of courtesy and lack of pain control for your back pain. For your experience of all this, I do sincerely apologize. I can understand how upsetting this has been for you. I also want to assure you that we take these concerns very seriously and this is not the patient/family experience we strive for. An investigation into this matter included a review of your health record of May 7th and interviews with the staff that took care of you. I have been advised that there were several patients waiting for care that evening, some with life-threatening conditions. Your prolonged wait to see the doctor related to that patient volume and acuity on that particular shift. Reducing wait times for all patients/families in our emergency department is a high priority at our hospital and we anticipate improvements in future as we continue to address this concern. When the Emergency Department nurse manager spoke with the nurse about her response to you, the nurse indicated she was regretful of her tone with you and extends her sincere apologies for not addressing your pain sooner. If you have uploads/Management/ letter-writing-guide 1 .pdf