18 hours ago Resources to help submit a complaint for the Board of Registration in Medicine's review. Patients or patient representatives can submit a complaint against a physician for the Board to review. The preferred method is to use our Online Complaint System. There are also paper forms in three languages which you can mail to the Board, and a brochure ... >> Go To The Portal
By Massachusetts law, complaints must be resolved within 30 days. Follow the steps below to file a complaint and grievance with your health plan: The law requires health plans accept your complaint by phone, mail, in person or electronically (by fax or e-mail). Tell them you want to file a formal complaint and then explain the problem.
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However, Massachusetts courts have recognized a duty of confidentiality that all doctors in the Commonwealth owe to their patients.
Research indicates that doctors can fail to communicate test results to their patients over 7% of the time. This may not seem like a common problem, but such failures can result in serious injury or complications, even if the test results do not indicate that anything is wrong.
Providers may disclose information without a patient’s consent, in certain limited circumstances, such as pursuant to a court order, 42 C.F.R. §2.61, in a medical emergency, 42 C.F.R. §2.51, or to report incidents of child abuse and neglect. 42 C.F.R. §2.12 (c) (6).
If the patient cannot be reached by the available contact information, try other means including online sources as warranted by the clinical importance of contacting the patient. Assess how reliably individual patients are likely to be contacted and customize your approach.
To file a complaint against a Massachusetts doctor, you will need to contact the state's medical board at 781.876. 8200. You can visit the mass.gov/massmedboard to learn more about filing a grievance against a medical provider.
You can reach us at (617) 727-8400. You can file a complaint at any time using our online form.
A. You can file a quality of care complaint to the Massachusetts Division of Healthcare Quality at 617-753-8150 or to the Joint Commission at 800-994-6610. If you think your civil rights have been violated, you can call the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office at 617-727-2200.
Studies have found that the vast majority of hospital patient complaints are related to the customer service they receive, specifically in the areas of:Staff/Patient Communication: 53 percent.Long Wait Times: 35 percent.Practice Staff Behavior: 12 percent.Billing Discrepencies: 2 percent.
The Consumer Protection Act (M.G.L. Chapter 93A ) protects people from unfair and misleading business actions. It gives buyers the right to sue in court and get back money they lost. The law also allows businesses to sue other businesses.
To bring a Chapter 93A claim, a consumer must send a demand letter to the offending business at least thirty days before filing a court action. The letter must identify yourself, describe the unfair or deceptive act or practice you believe is at issue, and identify the injury you suffered.
How can I get help with a computer problem or a problem with accessing my e-mail account? If you are connected to the network, please go to the IS Service Desk intranet page or call 617-726-5085.
To file a complaint you must first complete your health plan's grievance process.File a complaint with the OPP using the external review request form here.Call the OPP by phone: (800) 436-7757.
Filing the Complaint: DPH has a form that you should use to file your complaint. It is available online to print out, fill in and mail, or you can call them and have them mail you a copy: 860-509-7552. When DPH receives your complaint, you should get a letter within 10 days acknowledging that it has been received.
Let's take a look at your rights.The Right to Be Treated with Respect.The Right to Obtain Your Medical Records.The Right to Privacy of Your Medical Records.The Right to Make a Treatment Choice.The Right to Informed Consent.The Right to Refuse Treatment.The Right to Make Decisions About End-of-Life Care.
Nearly all GPs (97%) who responded to a survey from the Medical Defence Union (MDU) said they had received a complaint against them during the course of their career, with slightly lower figures for consultants (88%) and trainees (71%).
5 Common Patient Complaints in HealthcareLong Wait Times.Issues with Staff Members.Amount of Time Spent with Doctor.Insurance and Billing.Lack of Communication and Dismissiveness.
If you are not the person receiving care, their legal surrogate, or have their permission to receive their personal medical information, you will need to complete a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) form.
The Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification is a regulatory agency required to identify and address Federal or State regulatory violations. In order for us to help you in the most effective and timely way, please read the following guidelines before submitting your complaint.
It will streamline the process if you print and complete a copy of this form, get necessary signatures, and submit it with your written complaint. If you do not have legal authority to receive patient information, you will not receive a copy of the entire report, but you will receive a synopsis with a conclusion.
Improper care or unsafe conditions. You may have a complaint about improper care (like claims of abuse to a nursing home resident) or unsafe conditions (like water damage or fire safety concerns).
For questions about a specific service you got, look at your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) or log into your secure Medicare account . You can file an appeal if you disagree with a coverage or payment decision made by one of these: 1 Medicare 2 Your Medicare health plan 3 Your Medicare drug plan
If you have a problem that you cannot solve with your doctor, nurse or other caregiver, please call the Office of Patient Advocacy. 617-726-3370. Patients, families, visitors or staff can contact the Office of Patient Advocacy with a concern.
If you present a complaint, your care will not be affected in any way. If you send a complaint by fax, e-mail or written letter, OPA will acknowledge your communication within two business days.
To file a complaint you must first complete your health plan’s grievance process. File a complaint with the OPP using the external review request form ...
The first thing you need to do is file a complaint with your health plan. By Massachusetts law, complaints must be resolved within 30 days. Follow the steps below to file a complaint and grievance with your health plan: The law requires health plans accept your complaint by phone, mail, in person or electronically (by fax or e-mail).
All doctors and other health care providers are subject to state and federal law requiring them to maintain the confidentiality of their patients’ health and medical information. The most well-known of such laws is the Privacy Rule of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164.
Additionally, most confidentiality laws contain a so-called “safety” or similar exception, which allows (and in some instances, requires) a mental health provider to disclose confidential information to protect the patient or another person from serious harm.
Other Information Subject to “Heightened” Protections: Genetic information, HIV and Venereal Test results. Other types of health information subject to heightened restrictions under state law include genetic information and reports (G.L. c. 111, §70G), the fact and results of an HIV test (G.L. c.
When the patient is a minor, ordinarily the parent, guardian, or custodian is authorized to give written consent to disclosure of the child’s health information. However, there are certain situations where only the minor can consent to the disclosure of health information.
In the context of a legal proceeding in which a minor has the privilege to prevent the disclosure of confidential mental health information, the minor’s parent or guardian generally has the right to decide whether to exercise or waive such privilege.
Under HIPAA, a patient’s authorized representative is anyone who is authorized under state law to act on the patient’s behalf in making health care related decisions. See 45 C.F.R. §164.502 (g) (1). Where the patient is a minor, the minor’s parent, guardian, custodian or someone designated under a caregiver authorization affidavit (hereafter, “parent or guardian”) would typically be considered the minor’s authorized representative. (See Appendix E for a sample Caregiver Authorization Affidavit.) Accordingly, a minor’s parent or guardian can generally obtain, or consent to the disclosure of, the minor’s protected health information without the minor’s knowledge or consent. There are exceptions to this general rule. As discussed above, a minor’s parent or guardian is never treated as the minor’s authorized representative with respect to the minor’s substance use disorder treatment information. A covered substance use disorder treatment provider must obtain the minor’s consent to disclose such information to the parent or guardian or to a third party. 42 C.F.R. §2.14 .
HIPAA applies to physicians and other individual and institutional health care providers (e.g., dentists, psychologists, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, etc.). It limits the circumstances under which these providers can disclose “protected health information” or “PHI.”.
Federal regulations. 45 CFR Part 88 Protecting statutory conscience rights in health care. Allows health workers to refuse to perform or assist medical procedures, like abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide, if it violates their “conscience” or religion.
App. Ct. 55 (2020)#N#"if a patient unambiguously withdraws consent after medical treatment has begun, and if it is medically feasible to discontinue treatment, continued treatment following such a withdrawal may give rise to a medical battery claim."
If your doctor has failed to disclose the results of your medical exam, you may be entitled to legal relief. You should contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible while the events are still fresh in your recollection. An attorney can help specify your course of action if you have been injured as a result of your doctor’s errors.
A doctor might fail to disclose test results for several reasons. For one, they may simply forget to tell the patient about the test results. More often, test results can be lost or confused along the chain of communication in a hospital . Test results are often relayed between several different people, such as from a nurse to ...
These records and receipts may be useful in reminding yourself and others what tests have been performed on you and what test results you are currently entitled to receiving.
As the patient, you are entitled to know the results of your medical exams. All medical professionals are held to a high standard of medical care, and that standard of care includes informing the patient of the outcome of any medical test or examination, such as a colonoscopy or a mammogram, that is performed on them. Your doctor should also inform you of the purpose of the medical exam, and also of any dangers or side effects that might result from the exam.
Additionally , you may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit if your injury is particularly serious. You will have to prove in court that you received actual injuries as a result of the doctor’s failure to communicate test results. Also, you will need to prove that the failure to communicate test results is directly traceable to your doctor.
If you noticed an error in your medical record, but your medical care has been good, you should bring it up to the doctor and office staff. They are highly likely to correct it to your satisfaction. How to Correct Errors in Your Medical Records.
When your doctor is to blame for something wrong that happened to you, there are avenues you can take to file a complaint. As you begin this process, it is important that you figure out who to speak with and how to do it.
Keep your letter concise. The content should be no more than a few paragraphs, written in short sentences on a single page. Be specific about your complaints. If possible, use a bulleted list to punctuate your points. Remain objective.
2 If your appeal is denied, your doctor may have a patient advocate that can help you free of charge.
If your doctor was sexually inappropriate or abusive in any way, you should contact the state medical board and file a police report. 4 .
Article Sources. Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Sheeren Jegtvig. on February 16, 2020. Doctors, like anyone, are human and can make mistakes. Sometimes your doctor's practices may be inappropriate or unethical. In other cases, you may feel they have not received quality care, been mistreated, or been put at risk by your doctor. When your doctor is to blame for something wrong ...
Health care organizations can do the same. If the patient cannot be reached by the available contact information, try other means including online sources as warranted by the clinical importance of contacting the patient. Assess how reliably individual patients are likely to be contacted and customize your approach.
Whatever is done should be documented in the medical record for the usual reasons: to communicate to others what has been done and to provide written or electronic documentation in case the failure to contact becomes the subject of a lawsuit.
The malpractice standard of care requires an effort to contact patients about abnormal test results that is proportionate to the harm that might occur without proper follow up. Two steps that could reduce the harm from failure to contact patients about abnormal test results are engaging patients in following up on pending tests ...
The ultrasound technician did not notice the abnormal test result or the fact that the chlamydia infection had not been treated. The following day, a different OB/GYN clinic nurse tried to call the patient with the ultrasound results, and again no one answered the phone.