Complaints Against Home Healthcare Agencies

Home health care agencies provide home health services, such as nursing care and physical therapy, to persons that require medical care in their home. These patients may have recently been hospitalized or had a surgical procedure, or may have a medical condition that requires occasional medical care. Just as with any other health care organization or business, home health care agencies provide a service to consumers and, on occasion, may not provide the highest quality of service. In these cases, there may be a need to make a complaint against a home health care agency.

Common Types of Complaints

• Because home health care agencies provide medical care, the outcome of poor service or care can cause serious or life threatening problems for the patient or consumer. Some common complaints against home health care agencies are related to a delay in providing service, providing poor or incorrect care to a patient, failing to recognize a more serious medical issue, and behavioral or customer service related complaints. Typically, the care-related complaints are more serious and should be addressed appropriately by the agency or a health care regulatory agency.

How to Make a Complaint

• There are multiple ways in which a complaint can be made against a home health care agency. The most effective way is through the Joint Commission, a health care regulatory agency that provides an outlet for any complaints related to health care organizations or services. To make a complaint to the Joint Commission, a consumer must provide any pertinent details of the complaint including the name of the home health care agency, the patient's information and a description of the complaint. This information can be entered directly on the Joint Commission's website. It can also be emailed, faxed or mailed to the appropriately locations listed on the website. Complaints about home health care agencies can also be made through consumer organizations such as the Better Business Bureau.

Complaint Investigation and Response

• The Joint Commission follows a very robust complaint follow-up process. The complaints made are first evaluated based upon the organization's history and accreditation regarding the complaints basis. If the complaint raises serious concerns about patient safety or suggests that the organization in questions failed to comply with Joint Commission standards, they conduct an unannounced and unscheduled evaluation of the site. This includes asking the organization to provide a written response to the complaint, investigating on site and requesting certain documentation and medical records for review. The complaint will then be either substantiated and kept on record against the organization to track trends or it can be found unsubstantiated and closed. The specific details of the investigation are considered confidential; however, consumers or patients can request to receive certain information regarding the investigation.

Considerations

• When considering making a complaint against a home health care agency, there are a few things to consider. The Joint Commission will not deny any complaints that have not been addressed with the organization first; however, it does strongly recommend that patients and consumers make every effort to resolve their complaints with the home health care organization in question prior to filing a complaint with the agency. All home health care agencies, large and small, should have a process in place to take complaints and grievances, investigate these claims and respond to the patient. In addition, these grievances are logged and available to regulatory agencies upon request or during the review process. This serves to improve the quality of care and is a valuable resource for both patients and the organization, as well.