Customers’ Complaints and its Determinants: The Case of a Training Educational Hospital in Iran

Document Type: Original Article

Authors

1 Health Sciences Research Center, Department of Health and Management, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

2 School of public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran

3 Ghaem Educational, Research and Treatment Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

4 Departement of Health and Management, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Background
Today, despite the efforts of the medical community and healthcare staff along with the advancements in medical technology, patients’ dissatisfaction and complaints have been increased. The present study aimed at making a survey on the patients’ complaints in a large training hospital affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS).
 
Methods
This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on written and verbal complaints of patients and their relatives in a tertiary (specialty and sub-specialty) training hospital. All the recorded patients’ complaints, from March to December 2012, were reviewed. Data were categorized and analyzed using descriptive statistics by Microsoft Excel 2007.
 
Results
A total of 233 complaints were reviewed, of which 46.35%, 31.34% and 22.31%, respectively, were verbal, written and made on the phone. The main reasons for complaints were accessibility to medical staff (21.46%), communication failures (20.17%) and dissatisfaction with the provided care (14.59%). Thirty one (13.31%) cases were solved at first place, 194 (83.26%) referred to the complaints from the committee and 3.43% referred to the legal authorities. The average response time was about six to seven days.
 
Conclusion
The findings of the study suggest that sufficient availability of medical staff, improvement in communication skills and paying attention to the patients’ needs and expectations may reduce complaints from public health facilities.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Nobakht-Haghighi A, Zali MR, Mahdavi MS, Nowroozi A. Malpractice claims: a preliminary study in Tehran. Arch Iran Med 2002; 15: 52–3.
  2. Montini T, Noble AA, Stelfox HT. Content analysis of patient complaints. Int J Qual Health Care 2008; 20: 412–20. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzn041
  3. Dublin Dental School & Hospital. Patient Complaints Policy– Currently under review [internet]. Ireland: Dental education and training institution; 2007. p. 1–7. Available from: http://www.dentalhospital.ie/patients/policies/
  4. Siyambalapitiya S, Caunt J, Harrison N, White L, Weremczuk D, Fernando DJ. A 22 month study of patient complaints at a National Health Service hospital. Int J Nurs Pract 2007; 13: 107–10. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-172x.2007.00613.x
  5. Romios P, Newby L, Wohlers M. Turning wrong into rights: learning from consumer reported incidents; An annotated literature review [internet]. Department of Health and Ageing, Commonwealth of Australia; 2003. Available from: http://www.healthissuescentre.org.au/documents/items/2008/04/204843-upload-00001.pdf
  6. WHO. The World health report 2000: health systems: improving performance. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2000. doi: 10.1016/s0033-3549(04)50043-2
  7. College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta. CPSA 2012 Complaint Statistics [intrnet]. Canada: College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta; 2012. Available from: http://www.cpsa.ab.ca/services/Complaints_department/Complaint_Statistics.aspx
  8. Bismark MM, Brennan TA, Paterson RJ, Davis PB, Studdert DM. Relationship between complaints and quality of care in New Zealand: a descriptive analysis of complainants and non-complainants following adverse events. Qual Saf Health Care 2006; 15: 17–22. doi: 10.1136/qshc.2005.015743
  9. Manouchehri Moghadam J, Ibrahimipour H, Akbari Sari A, Farahbakhsh M, Khoshgoftar Z. Study of patient complaints reported over 30 months at a large heart centre in Tehran. Qual Saf Health Care 2010; 19: e28. doi: 10.1136/qshc.2009.033654
  10. Mirzaaghaee F, Moeinfar Z, Rashidian A, Eftekhari S. [Complaints recorded at three hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences and the factors affecting it, from April 2007 to March 2008]. Journal of Hospital 2012; 10: 19–28.
  11. Vafaee-Najar A, Pourtaleb A, Ebrahimipour H, Dehnavieh R. Study of patient’s complaints reported over 36 months at a large public educational specialized center of obstetrics and gynecology. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 2013; 16: 23–9.
  12. Pichert JW, Gerald H. Using Patient Complaints to Promote Patient Safety. In: Henriksen K, Battles JB, Keyes MA, Grady ML, editors. Advances in Patient Safety: New Directions and Alternative Approaches (Vol. 2: Culture and Redesign). Rockville: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2008.
  13. Ebrahimipour H, Vafaee-Najar A, Khanijahani A, Pourtaleb A. Health system responsiveness: a case study of general hospitals in Iran. International Journal of Health Policy and Management 2013; 1: 85–90. doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2013.56
  14. Skaran U. [Research Methods in Management]. Tehran: Governmental Management Training Center; 2011.
  15. Wong LL, Ooi SB. Patients’ complaints in a hospital emergency department in Singapore. Singapore Med J 2007; 48: 990–5.
  16. Zengin S, AL B, Yavz E, Şen C, Cindruk Ş, Yildrim C. Patient and relative complaints in a hospital emergency department: a 4-Year analysis. Tr J Emerg Med 2012; 12: 163–8. doi: 10.5505/1304.7361.2012.55823
  17. Gorton M, Brous D, Coleman M, Schwarz R. Guide to complaint handling in health care services [internet]. Available from: http://www.health.vic.gov.au/hsc/downloads/complaints_handling.pdf
  18. Chavan R, Porter C, Sandramouli S. Formal complaints at an eye hospital: a three-year analysis. Clinical Governance: An International Journal 2007; 12: 85–92. doi: 10.1108/14777270710741447
  19. Bazrafkan L, Shokrpour N, Tabeie S. [A survey of patients’ complaints against physicians in a five year period in Fars province: implication for medical education]. Journal of Medical Education 2008; 12: 23–8.
  20. Bendall-Lyon D, Powers TL. The role of complaint management in the service recovery process. Jt Comm J Qual Improv 2001; 27: 278–86.
  21. Halsel D. Handling patient complaints. Mo Med 1993; 90: 645–7.
  22. Holte A. Professional communication skills. Scand J Prim Health Care 1990; 8: 131–2. doi: 10.3109/02813439008994945
  23. Anderson K, Allan D, Finucane P. A 30-month study of patient complaints at a major Australian hospital. J Qual Clin Pract 2001; 21: 109–11. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1762.2001.00422.x
  24. Rezapour A, Asefzaddeh S, Ebadi Fard Azar F. [Calculating of daily- patient hotel cost in hospitals of Qazvin university of medical sciences]. Teb va Tazkieh Journal 2010; 18: 8–18.
  25. Natangelo R. Clinicians’ and managers’ responses to patients’ complaints: A survey in hospitals of the Milan area. Clinical Governance 2007; 12: 260–6. doi: 10.1108/14777270710828937
  26. Salazar A, Ortiga B, Escarrabill J, Corbella X. Emergency department complaints: A 12-Year study in a university hospital. Ann Emerg Med 2004; 44: S20. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2004.07.065
  27. Taylor DM, Wolfe R, Cameron PA. Complaints from emergency department patients largely result from treatment and communication problems. Emerg Med (Fremantle) 2002; 14: 43–9. doi: 10.1046/j.1442-2026.2002.00284.x
  28. Saravanan B, Ranganathan E, Jenkinson L. Lessons learnt from complaints by surgical patients. Clinical Governance: An International Journal 2007; 12: 155–8. doi: 10.1108/14777270710775864
  29. Habibullah S. Responsiveness of the federal health system to the needs of 18-45 year old adults with physical disabilities in Islamabad, Pakistan [Dissertation]. Florida: University of South Florida; 2012.
 

 

 

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Volume 1, Issue 4
November 2013
Pages 273-277

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics