Listening to Patients: The Most Common Reasons for Complaints

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A lot of doctors are likely to face complaints, investigations, or clinical negligence claims at some point in their careers. These issues can arise from patients, employers, or even the General Medical Council (GMC) and can touch on various aspects of their professional work.

Sadly, complaints against doctors have been on the rise in the UK lately. This trend probably stems from the growing complexity of medical practices and a rising culture of complaints among the public, rather than a drop in doctors' performance. In this article we’ll observe most common patients’ concerns and ways how to deal with them.

 

5 Most Common Patient Complaints

A lot of clinicians will face complaints, investigations, or claims of clinical negligence at some point in their careers. These issues can come from patients, employers, or the General Medical Council (GMC) and can touch on any part of their professional duties. Unfortunately, complaints against doctors have been on the rise in the UK lately. This trend seems to stem more from the growing complexity of medical practices and a culture of complaints among the public, rather than a decline in doctors' abilities. Patients can voice concerns about any part of the care they receive. Some typical reasons for complaints include:

  1. Long wait times

  2. Breaches of patient confidentiality

  3. Poor communication

  4. Lack of accountability

  5. Medical errors

This list isn’t all-inclusive—there are plenty of things that can go wrong in a clinical setting. Doctors are human, and mistakes can happen, especially when they’re under pressure in a high-stress environment.

How to Deal with Patient Complaints?

Dealing with patient complaints is all about being quick and understanding. When a patient shares their concerns or dissatisfaction with your practice, it’s super important to really listen and validate their feelings. A simple apology for any mix-up or inconvenience goes a long way, and let them know that their feedback matters and will be taken seriously. Always treat patient reviews as a chance to enhance their experience.

Once you’ve acknowledged the issue, make sure to dig into what went wrong and take steps to fix it so it doesn’t happen again. Keep the lines of communication open by updating the patient on what you’re doing to resolve their concerns, and check back in to make sure they’re satisfied. By effectively managing complaints, your practice can show that it truly cares about delivering top-notch care, leading to better outcomes for everyone. Focus on these areas, and you’ll not only cut down on complaints but also bring in new patients, keep your current ones happy and everything running smoothly.

Objection Handling

Here are a few pieces of advice of how to deal with objections and meet patient expectations.

  1. Long wait times

A lot of people share this complaint, and it ties back to the last one. Patients often want quick service, and their annoyance grows when they have to wait at any point in a medical facility—whether it’s on the phone, at the front desk, or in the exam room.

But let’s be real: sometimes patients are the reason for the delays. They might skip appointments, cancel last minute, or show up late. Studies show that the average tardiness is around 20-23 minutes (Source: BMJ). There are several strategies to help keep patients on track and cut down on wait times, like charging no-show fees, implementing pre-registration, and using call answering services. By using these methods together, hospitals can ease congestion, lighten the staff's load, and ultimately speed up the whole process.

  1. Breaches of patient confidentiality

Respecting privacy and confidentiality is a key right for patients. Healthcare professionals are required to protect all patient information, and there are various regulations, like HIPAA, in place to ensure this happens. However, many hospitals still struggle with this issue and end up making privacy mistakes such as: asking patients to discuss personal issues with receptionists, not having soundproof examination rooms, treating patients in hallways because of overcrowding, and improperly handling patient records, which can lead to unauthorized sharing of names and other sensitive information.

  1. Poor communication

A good relationship between a patient and a doctor is very important for the quality of care in hospitals. When communication breaks down, it can lead to some serious issues like poor handoffs, mistakes in treatment, worsening health, and in the worst cases, even death. It's been found that around 30% of malpractice cases in hospitals stem from poor communication. Still, many healthcare facilities struggle with effective communication between patients and doctors. Patients often feel that doctors can be uncaring, lack empathy, and use complicated medical jargon that’s hard to understand. Plus, the communication issues don’t stop there; doctors and hospitals often fail to communicate with each other, which can really hurt the overall care and progress of patients.

  1. Lack of Accountability

When patients take an active role in their treatment, it boosts recovery rates and cuts down on readmissions. It turns out that 89% of patients want to have a say in their healthcare. When they get that chance, it not only saves time and resources but also makes them happier with their care. So, hospitals really need to focus on making their services more user-friendly by:

  • Empowering patients to take charge of their health through shared decision-making

  • Making health records easily accessible

  • Simplifying the process for renewing prescriptions online

  • Sending text reminders to help with medication adherence

  • Offering round-the-clock access to healthcare services

  • Making follow-up calls to help prevent relapses and readmissions

  1. Medical errors

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, even the most dedicated doctors can end up dealing with patient dissatisfaction, complaints and legal issues. But don’t worry, there are still things you can do to safeguard yourself.

  • Spot and report early .

Get in touch with your medical defense organization right away. We recommend reaching out as soon as something happens, as we might help stop it from turning into a bigger issue. Medicolegal consultants have a ton of experience with all sorts of situations, big and small, and they can guide you on your next steps.

  • Fix the error and avoid more damage

  • Own up to what’s happened and do your best to make things right. While you can’t completely erase the mistake, you can take action to prevent any further harm to the patient.

  • Communicate with the patient and their family

  • Be upfront. Listen to their worries and address their concerns.

  • Grow from your experiences

  • Clearly document the patient manipulations performed. You should have the necessary paperwork available for inspection. You can use special Practice management systems for this purpose.

Being a great doctor means being resilient and always looking to improve. Use tough situations as chances to learn and make sure the same mistakes don’t happen again. Did this situation reveal issues within the team, like poor communication or weak administrative processes? If so, bring it up with a senior colleague to help reduce the risk of it happening again.

4 Steps to Follow when you Receive a Complaint

Having clear systems and processes in place really helps staff deal with complaints effectively. When a patient raises an issue, it’s important not to get defensive or take it personally, even though that can be tough in the moment. That’s where solid complaint handling policies come in handy—they guide staff on how to respond, keeping the focus on what needs to be done rather than how they feel. Here are some strategies to think about:

  • Try to respond to complaints as quickly as possible. For written complaints, it’s best to reach out by phone if you can, ideally within 24 to 48 hours, to acknowledge the complaint and give the patient an idea of when they can expect a follow-up.

  • Make it a point to discuss patient complaints during practice meetings and record them in the minutes. This shows that the complaints are taken seriously and opens the door for talking about improvements based on feedback.

  • Consider doing some role-playing with your team to practice handling different patient complaint scenarios. Use scripted responses to help everyone feel more prepared and confident in their reactions, like lowering your voice to calm down an upset patient.

  • Implement a transparent policy for open discussions about complaints. This means involving the patient in conversations, allowing them to voice their concerns, feel heard, and suggest ways your practice can improve.

Conclusion

Dealing with patient complaints quickly and with empathy is super important for keeping patients happy and building trust. When someone shares their concerns about their experience at your practice, it’s essential to really listen and validate their feelings. A simple apology for any mix-up or inconvenience goes a long way, and letting them know their feedback matters can make a big difference. Take all patient reviews seriously and use them as a chance to enhance the overall experience. Once you’ve acknowledged the issue, make sure to dig into what went wrong and take steps to fix it so it doesn’t happen again. Keep the lines of communication open by updating the patient on what you’re doing to resolve their concerns, and check back in to make sure they’re satisfied. By effectively managing complaints, your practice can show it’s dedicated to top-notch patient care, leading to better outcomes. Focus on these areas, and you’ll not only cut down on complaints but also attract new patients, keep the ones you have, and ensure everything runs smoothly.

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