What Should You Do If You Feel You Or Your Loved One Is Not Receiving Good Medical Or Nursing Care While Hospitalized?

Google the patient Bill of Rights and identify any patient rights that you believe might have been violated. If you feel your care does not meet the goals of the Patient’s Bill of Rights you may file a complaint with your physician or the nurse manager for your floor. Just pick up your bedside telephone, dial the operator and ask him or her to connect you to the nurse manager on call. Your complaint should be resolved promptly and completely. You might also call the hospital chaplain. They are generally willing and able to intervene. 

If your needs are not met at those levels, you may file a complaint with the hospital’s Medical Director or CEO/President. This information is likely located on your hospital’s website. If the hospital does not resolve your complaint you may take it to your state Department of Health. This information should be located on your hospital’s website, as well as on your state’s Department of Health web portal.

If your complaints are not resolved through any of these sources, you are encouraged to contact The Joint Commission’s Office of Quality Monitoring, which is a non-profit group that accredits and certifies the quality and care standards in many American hospitals. 

Contact information for The Joint Commission: 

The Joint Commission – Office of Quality Monitoring
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL, 60181
Telephone 1-(800) 994-6610