Be a Leader, Be Accountable to patient Complaints

Abstract

Quality of healthcare can be measured
by many ways; today it is a common knowledge that
Patients' satisfaction is a critical variable in any
calculation of quality. Patients' satisfaction is a goal
for all physicians and other medical staff. Patients are
now judging physicians not solely by cost, but also by
the value of quality of care they deliver [1]. Usually
medical organizations use satisfaction surveys in
order to learn what does the health customer thinks
about their health care delivery, products, attitude
etc. The problem with this method is that most of the
time, these surveys reflect topics that interest the
organization, and this is not always equivalent to the
patients' interests. Another way is to look at patients'
dissatisfaction, and learn about the organization from
patients' complaints. The way patient complaints are
treated indicates the organization's accountability to
them. This is especially true in a hierarchical
organization such as a military unit where the mission
is above all, before the soldier's welfare and health. In
this paper we will describe patients' dissatisfaction;
explain what complaints are; describe their
contribution to the organization and their
relationship with risk assessment and patient safety;
review the issues that soldiers are complaining about;
and finally discuss who should be accountable for
dealing with health issues at the military.