V T Chande1, M S Bhende, H W Davis. 1. Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213.
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To identify the incidence and major causes of patient and parental complaints in a pediatric emergency department. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of complaints received regarding patients seen between January 1987 and December 1989. SETTING: ED of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. PARTICIPANTS: All complaints received during the three-year period. INTERVENTIONS: Complaints were reviewed for reason, validity, and location at which patient was seen. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: One hundred seventy-six complaints from a total of 154,648 ED visits yielded a frequency of 1.1 complaints per 1,000 patient visits. Main reasons for dissatisfaction were misdiagnosis, billing, and inadequate treatment; 49% of complaints were judged valid. There were 0.69 complaints per 1,000 patient visits in the nonurgent medical portion of the ED. Patients seen emergently (critical care and trauma) had a significantly lower complaint frequency of 0.08 per 1,000 patient visits (P less than .001 by chi 2 analysis). CONCLUSION: Assessment of ED complaints is useful to highlight areas of patient dissatisfaction and develop plans for improving patient care.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To identify the incidence and major causes of patient and parental complaints in a pediatric emergency department. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of complaints received regarding patients seen between January 1987 and December 1989. SETTING: ED of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. PARTICIPANTS: All complaints received during the three-year period. INTERVENTIONS: Complaints were reviewed for reason, validity, and location at which patient was seen. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: One hundred seventy-six complaints from a total of 154,648 ED visits yielded a frequency of 1.1 complaints per 1,000 patient visits. Main reasons for dissatisfaction were misdiagnosis, billing, and inadequate treatment; 49% of complaints were judged valid. There were 0.69 complaints per 1,000 patient visits in the nonurgent medical portion of the ED. Patients seen emergently (critical care and trauma) had a significantly lower complaint frequency of 0.08 per 1,000 patient visits (P less than .001 by chi 2 analysis). CONCLUSION: Assessment of ED complaints is useful to highlight areas of patient dissatisfaction and develop plans for improving patient care.
Authors: Zach K Jepson; Chad E Darling; Kevin A Kotkowski; Steven B Bird; Michael W Arce; Gregory A Volturo; Martin A Reznek Journal: BMC Emerg Med Date: 2014-08-08