The Customer Service Department oversees patient satisfaction at NSMC. In particular we want to know how patients feel about their experiences at our facilities and how satisfied they are. The Department receives feedback through complaints, compliments, follow up phone calls and patient satisfaction surveys. The Customer Service staff act as a liaison between the patient and the hospital to provide responses as necessary and to ensure all parties are treated with respect. All feedback is entered into a database so we can keep track of it and identify trends.
The role of the Ombudsman
NSMC Salem and NSMC Union Hospitals employ Ombudsmen as part of their commitment to patient satisfaction. An Ombudsman serves as a neutral liaison between patients and medical or hospital staff to facilitate conflict resolution. An Ombudsman works in coordination with the health care team on all levels to improve customer satisfaction and quality of service. The Ombudsman is also responsible for handling all complex clinical complaints.
Ombudsman, NSMC Salem Hospital: 978.354.2025.
Ombudsman, NSMC Union Hospital: 781.477.3399.
NSMC welcomes all feedback, both good and bad, from patients, their representatives and visitors, as well as from its own management and staff. By listening seriously to what you have to say, we get a chance to try to resolve your concerns and learn how to provide better services where we have failed. It also allows us to share good practice and reward achievement.
Patient rights & the complaint/grievance process
- A complaint or grievance means any concern a patient has regarding his/her care, treatment, or experience at NSMC.
- You may register your complaint verbally, i.e., over the telephone or in-person, and/or in writing, i.e., by letter, feedback form, fax, email or survey.
- Complaints can be made by current or former patients, by someone representing a patient – with the patient’s permission if they are capable of giving it – or by a visitor or family member unhappy with the service they received.
- NSMC will look into all complaints and, when indicated, make efforts to correct the problem.
- Each patient or family that makes a complaint will receive a response from us.
- If you present a complaint, your care will not be affected in any way.
What happens if you make a complaint
It is best if at first you talk to someone directly involved in your care about your complaint. This might be a doctor, nurse, case manager or other staff member. In many cases, if they are made aware of your concerns they will be able to resolve them straight away.
If you decide to file a formal complaint:
- You will be contacted by a member of Customer services who will ask you about your complaint and for details of the names of the people involved, your medical record number, the date and location of where the problem occurred and your ideas about how we might be able to help.
- If you are complaining on behalf of someone else we may not be able to share confidential patient information with you and we may seek the permission of the patient to proceed – this is to protect patient confidentiality.
- You can ask to remain anonymous but the investigation and follow up will be more difficult to do because we will not be able to use specific information about your case.
- We will ask your permission to start an investigation and to share the information you have given us with relevant staff. Other than for the purposes of investigation, all information is treated confidentially.
- If an investigation is necessary this could include talking with relevant staff and their managers, reviewing documentation, including your medical record, and working with you on a possible resolution.
- The time taken to look into your concerns depends on the complexity of your case but staff will keep you informed regularly on progress.
- Once any investigation is complete you can expect to be told of the outcome.
What happens after a complaint is filed:
The information you provide is of great value to us and we are grateful to you for it. We will try to resolve any concerns you have at the earliest opportunity, although we cannot always change an experience you have already had. In those cases, your feedback will be used to help us improve the care we provide in the future.
Sometimes, clinical complaints will result in a peer review process. This allows clinical staff to review the actions of their colleagues and is protected by confidentiality laws. If this happens we can tell you that this has been done but we cannot tell you the outcome. Similarly, any internal disciplinary actions that are taken are confidential.
Reporting a complaint to an outside agency
You can file a quality of care complaint to:
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Division of Healthcare Quality
Complaint Unit
99 Chauncy Street
2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02111 1-800 462 5540
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 800-994-6610
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Board of Registration in Medicine
560 Harrison Avenue, Suite G-4
Boston, MA 02118 617 654-9800
If you think your civil rights have been violated, you can call:
The MA Attorney General’s Office 617-727-2200
Additional contact information (please call these directly instead of Customer Service):
Billing inquires: go here or call 978.825.7087
Medical records requests: 781.477.3062 (Union), 978.354.4258 (Salem)
Privacy concerns: 781.477.3392 (Union), 978.354.4254 (Salem)
Financial counseling: go here for numbers to call
Job questions: go here
Finding a Physician: go here or call 877.676.2637
Lost belongings: report all missing items to the manager of the department
