‘Rude staff ignored us for 20 minutes then told Mum to go away and get used to her new glasses, ignoring the fact they were giving her headaches. Then charged her $150. Never visit this practice!’ How to handle such cases.
A confrontation with an unhappy customer is probably the last thing you want, and usually comes at the worst possible time. However, as in the example above, many complaints involve elements of miscommunication, misunderstandings or customer service issues such as perceived rudeness, delays or billing processes. If you can manage these well at a practice level, you can often effectively resolve them and stop them escalating.
“It is important the entire practice team perceives complaints and feedback as valuable opportunities for improvement.”
When and how to respond
The following steps apply where a patient, carer or family member complains to you first.
If they go to the regulator (Ahpra) or complain through a lawyer, you may not be able to contact them directly. Speak to your professional indemnity insurer and check whether you need legal advice before responding.
If the comments were posted online, there are some additional issues to consider. See Avant’s guide to ‘Responding to negative feedback online’.
Ahpra and the Australian Commissioner on Safety and Quality in Healthcare have also produced a checklist for practitioners handling complaints which complements the steps listed below.
Strategies to address complaints
1. Have a clear and accessible feedback process
If you encourage patients to share their experiences, they are more likely to raise concerns with you first and give you an opportunity to address them.
Make sure someone senior in the practice team is responsible for responding. They should be experienced enough to address patient concerns sensitively and effectively. If the complaint is about a clinical matter, then it is important to make sure that a clinician is involved in responding to the complaint.
Make sure all staff in the practice know the process and their role in it, including how to respond if they are the patient’s first point of contact. This ensures consistency in your complaint management process.
2. Respond as quickly as you can to direct complaints
Never ignore a direct complaint. Some complaints may be straightforward and able to be resolved immediately. Where this is not possible it is important to acknowledge the complaint, ideally within a day of receiving it, and communicate to the patient your next steps while you consider the concerns raised. Where appropriate, you may also use this opportunity to ask for any additional information needed to investigate the complaint.
3. Acknowledge and seek to understand the patient’s concerns
• For serious or complex complaints, you may need to set up a meeting. The patient may wish to bring a support person and/or you may need to arrange an independent interpreter. Allow plenty of time.
• Try to speak directly with the patient if possible and appropriate, and encourage them to explain what happened in their own words.
• Find out how they would like to resolve the issue. They may just want an apology.
• Avoid being defensive. Try to show empathy for the patient’s experience even if you do not agree the complaint is warranted.
• If a patient has experienced an unexpected or adverse outcome causing unintentional harm, follow an open disclosure process, and include an apology. You can apologise safely. See the Avant factsheet: ‘Open disclosure: how to say sorry’.
4. Investigate complex complaints
• Explain to the patient if the issue is not something you can resolve immediately and you need to investigate.
• Keep them informed of the investigation’s progress and if there are any delays.
5. Give as much information as you can
• Patients who complain are often just looking for information – explain what happened and what it means.
• Address and clarify any misunderstandings.
• Explain any changes you have made to avoid similar issues in future.
• Check if the patient is satisfied their concerns have been addressed.
• Explain what will happen next and make sure you follow up as needed.
• Document any discussion you have with the patient. This does not form part of the clinical notes so should be documented in a separate location.
6. Make sure your processes do not make things worse
Delay billing patients or pursuing payment until the complaint has been resolved.
You may ultimately want to consider waiving or reducing fees as part of the resolution.
Do not charge the patient for any meeting with them to discuss their complaint.
7. Look after yourself and your team
It’s never easy to be on the receiving end of a complaint and it can be stressful for all involved.
While it is not really possible to welcome complaints, there are some important benefits for practices if they can encourage patients to provide feedback to them directly and respond to any dissatisfaction appropriately.
It is important the entire practice team perceives complaints and feedback as valuable opportunities for improvement and that they are trained in the process of handling feedback and complaints.
NOTE: The online version of this article contains links to additional resources and further reading.
About the Author: Georgie Haysom BSc LLB (Hons) LLM (Bioethics) GAICD GradCert PsychBM, General Manager, Advocacy Education and Research at Avant.
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References & further reading
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare. Checklist for practitioners handling feedback and complaints (ahpra.gov.au).
Avant factsheet – Responding to a direct patient complaint
Avant factsheet – Responding to negative feedback online
Avant factsheet – Open disclosure: how to say sorry
Avant. Claims and complaints insights: Practices. Avant; 1 May 2023.
ICM Unlimited. Fear of raising concerns about care: a research report for the Care Quality Commission. April 2013
- Truskett P. Should we view patient complaints as a resource? ANZ J Surg. 2012;82(10):667. doi:10.1111/j.1445-2197.2012.06258.x
- van Dael J, Reader TW, Gillespie A, et al. Learning from complaints in healthcare: a realist review of academic literature, policy evidence and front-line insights. BMJ Qual Saf. 2020;29:684-695. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2019-009704
