The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) has unveiled a checklist to help optometrists manage patient complaints.
The checklist, developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Ahpra and the 15 National Boards, aims to help practitioners effectively handle feedback and complaints when they are first made directly to the health provider and may also be relevant to those who have a role in establishing and maintaining complaints systems and processes.
“We know that receiving negative feedback or a complaint can be confronting and stressful,” Ahpra said in a statement
In addition to the checklist, Ahpra has published a list of general support services.
“You might find this checklist helpful when a complaint is first raised with you by a patient or client, and it may also be relevant to those who have a role in establishing and maintaining complaints systems and processes at a health service,” Ahpra said.
The checklist is designed to help promote a positive feedback and complaints culture, provide guidelines on creating an accessible complaints process and advice on assessing and managing the feedback or complaint.
Ahpra said work is also underway on resources to help consumers navigate the various complaints options available.
The checklist, along with other resources covering a range of topics for practice support, is available on Ahpra’s Resources page.
More reading
How to handle patient complaints
Details of optometry complaints contained in 2022/23 board report
