What to do if you Get a Complaint
1. Don’t panic
- Chances are you will get a complaint at some point in your career
- Your professional obligation is to respond promptly, objectively and respectfully
2. Respond to CDSBC about the complaint
- Provide a detailed written report addressing each of the concerns raised, bearing in mind that your response will be provided to the complainant
- For complaints about treatment of a patient, include all patient records, charts and radiographs
- If records are electronic, put on disc or email to CDSBC – don’t print digital radiographs onto regular paper; they are not diagnostic quality
3. Take a breath and then review the complaint and your response with a trusted colleague (24-hour rule)
- Minimize emotionalism: be factual, dispassionate, and thorough
- Don’t blame or be disrespectful of the patient – think about them reading your response
- You are the one with professional responsibilities, not the patient, no matter how difficult they may be
- Be judicious and neutral in your response -- the patient will receive a copy of the response for their comment
- If there are other witnesses to an event complained of, have them prepare a dispassionate, factual account and include it with your report
4. Don’t be afraid to contact the patient/complainant to apologize or see if you can resolve the concerns directly
- If you weren’t aware of the problem until you got the complaint, this is your chance to deal with the complainant to address the concern
- It is inappropriate to induce the complainant to ‘withdraw’ their complaint
- If appropriate:
- apologize – if only for the fact there was a negative experience in your office
- advise of steps that you will take to address concerns to ensure it doesn’t happen again
- offer to refer for second opinion, fix, refund money, etc.
5. Reflect on what you can learn from the complaint
6. If there is a claim against you, notify your insurer
Content in PDF format available here:
What to do if you get a Complaint