Enticing patients to file complaints to the medical board

[the5thelement]

I work at a county in CA. Every single patient which comes in, they "educate" them (almost enticing them) to file a complaint with the medical board if they are unsatisfied with their provider. It was odd to me at first, but lately it just has been bothering me more and more. Imagine if a plumber walked in your home and said "If you are unsatisfied in any way with my performance, please file a complaint to the plumbing board." Is this the norm? With the field being what it is, and the general environment where many people are entitled and demanding , it is surprising no one has done it yet (to me). But is it just a matter of time?

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[hamstergang]

I work at a county in CA. Every single patient which comes in, they "educate" them (almost enticing them) to file a complaint with the medical board if they are unsatisfied with their provider.

Who is the "they" doing this educating, and in what context does it happen?

 

[clozareal]

You have to notify your patients about how to complain to the medical board but this doesn't have to be like sitting down and talking to them for 5 minutes at every intake. I put it in the initial paperwork. Some people just post it on their website or some obscure place in the office.

 

[comp1]

Concur, who is "they?" Isn't the requirement just that a sign be posted in the waiting area? And then if a sign isn't posted, then you have to hand out a sheet in discharge instructions? Cosmetologists have the same requirement, so I'm not really taking it personally. Now if your clinic or hospital is making this into some sort of huge deal, then that's more of a clinic issue and you should meet with the medical director.

 

[Bartelby]

Agreed, post the notice. If someone has taken it on themselves to counsel every new patient to report any concerns to the board that is not required and should stop.

 

[Celexa]

This is ludicrous. I echo everyone else: who the hell is the 'they'? Even the most assinine administrators usually know better than to outright encourage this since it potentially opens up so much more liability. I would assume rogue staff member.

These sound like the types of issues internal patient relations are for--patient relations can be annoying but they certainly don't constitute an official board complaint.....

 

[the5thelement]

"They" are the auxillary staff/ LPN/RNs who bring the patient to the room and escort them out after the visit is concluded.

 

[Celexa]

"They" are the auxillary staff/ LPN/RNs who bring the patient to the room and escort them out after the visit is concluded.

My bet: this started with a single malignant staff member at some point and then metastasized to being cultural and most of the people doing this probably have no idea either the absurdity or magnitude of what they're saying.

The bad news is eradicating that type of default inculturated behavior requires dedicated time and skill from leadership to re-educate staff on how to speak with these patients and give them acceptable alternative conversational scripts. You can't just tell them not to do it.

 

[Sushirolls]

Well if Oregon passes its micro aggression bill, which mandates reporting, CA and WA are likely to copy it.
Then everyone will report you for anything you say that is triggering to their feelings.

Talk with the admin/manager of the staff, and ask them to review how they convey this to patients. You shouldn't be the one to tell people, that's the admin, mid-management job.

If a big enough issue, can always change jobs.

 

[comp1]

Relaying information about the medical board (outside of handing a pamphlet as described above) is not appropriate or within the scope of the people described. This is not a California or Medical Board issue. This is an issue with your clinic in specific and something to bring to your director. Let's assume the best for now, that these people mistakenly believe they are required to do this and can be educated that they need to stop. Concur that it will require repeated education sessions, from the director and other supervisors, to stop the behavior, not a single statement.

 

[TexasPhysician]

This is extremely odd. It likely increases time spent on admin and legal, so I don’t understand why higher-ups want this. I personally would have a discussion with admin that this needs to stop now. If not, I’m prepared to hand in my letter of resignation today. This can only lead to problems, and even if you do nothing technically wrong, it could lead to numerous complaints sitting in your file at the state level.

 

[Stagg737]

Honestly if I found out my outpatient staff was "almost enticing" patients to report to the medical board if they aren't "satisfied" I'd be looking for a new job yesterday. I can't imagine working in an environment where the staff I work with every day was actively doing things, possibly with intent, to jeopardize my medical license...

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

what everyone else said, you basically just have to post this sign in the clinic waiting room and you've fulfilled the requirements. There's no requirement to verbally tell the patient any of this info (in fact it doesn't even fulfill the requirements to notify patients if you just verbally tell them about it without the sign/paperwork) and it can be just somewhere up with all the HIPAA statement and stuff.

https://www.mbc.ca.gov/Download/Documents/SampleSign-PhysicianSurgeon.pdf