If you have questions about how to file your complaint, you may contact the Joint
Commission at this toll free U.S. telephone number, weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Central Time, (800) 994-6610.
SCOPE OF COMPLAINT EVALUATIONS
Complaint information is used to strengthen the oversight activities of the Joint
Commission and improve the quality of care in accredited facilities. The Joint Commission addresses all complaints that relate to quality of care issues within the
scope of its standards. These include issues such as patient rights, care of patients, safety, infection control, medication use and security.
The Joint Commission does not address individual billing issues and payment disputes
. Also, it does not have jurisdiction in labor relations issues or the individual clinical management of a patient. The Joint Commission does not review complaints of any kind in unaccredited organizations.
HOW THE JOINT COMMISSION RESPONDS TO COMPLAINTS
The Joint Commission encourages you to first bring your complaint to the attention of the health care organization's leaders. If this does not lead to resolution, bring your complaint to JCAHO for review.
The Joint Commission's response to a complaint begins with a review of past complaints about the organization, if any, and the organization's accreditation survey
report. Depending on the nature of the complaint, the Joint Commission will take one or more of the following actions:
- Where serious concerns have been raised about patient safety or standards compliance, the Joint Commission will conduct an unannounced, on-site evaluation of the organization.
- The Joint Commission may ask the health care organization to provide a written response to the complaint.
- The Joint Commission may incorporate the complaint in the quality monitoring database that is used to continuously track the performance of health care organizations over time.
- The Joint Commission may review the complaint at the time of the health care organization's next scheduled accreditation survey if it is scheduled in the near future.
For more information about how the Joint Commission analyzes and follows up on complaints, see the Quality Incident Review Criteria.
RELEASE OF COMPLAINT-RELATED INFORMATION
Upon request, the Office of Quality Monitoring provides the number of complaints an
organization has had and the category by contacting (800) 994-6610. In addition, if an on-site review of an organization results in a change of accreditation status or
additional recommendations for improvement, these changes will be reflected in the organization's performance report, available in Quality Check the JCAHO.org website
or by calling the Customer Service Center at (630) 792-5800.
After the Joint Commission completes its review of a complaint, they inform the complainant of the actions they have taken.
WHO IS ACCREDITED?
Looking for a listing of accredited organizations? Go to Quality Check®
http://www.jointcommission.org/AccreditationPrograms/
Quality Check is a service of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations. If you want to "check up" on the performance of your local health care facility, whether it's a hospital, a surgery center, a nursing home or another type of
health care organization, you can now tap into Quality Check.
Quality Check has useful information about Joint Commission accredited organizations including:
- An organization's accreditation status
- Accreditation history
- Latest Performance Report
To perform a Quality Check, go to: http://www.qualitycheck.org
SENTINEL EVENTS
JCAHO gives special consideration to what it calls "Sentinel Events." In support of
its mission to improve the quality of health care provided to the public, the Joint Commission includes the review of organizations' activities in response to sentinel
events in its accreditation process, including all full accreditation surveys and random unannounced surveys.
- A sentinel event is an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof. Serious injury specifically
includes loss of limb or function. The phrase, "or the risk thereof" includes any process variation for which a recurrence would carry a significant chance of a serious adverse outcome.
- Such events are called "sentinel" because they signal the need for immediate investigation and response.
