Managing patient complaints to improve your practice

Increasing numbers of patient complaints to regulators suggest practices need effective systems to manage and address patient concerns. Many patient complaints can often be dealt with at a practice level, but patients can have difficulty reporting negative experiences directly.

This article explores the benefits of having a system to accept and deal with patient feedback within a practice and identifies barriers preventing patients from raising their concerns directly.

Managing patient complaints well at a practice level can prevent them escalating, as well as offering insights to reduce risk and improve patient care. Understanding factors that inhibit patients from raising concerns, or prevent staff from being able to accept and deal with complaints, allows an opportunity for practices to implement strategies to address these barriers and support patients and staff. Effective strategies include process improvements, as well as cultural changes and support for those managing a complaint process.