It’s now easier in SC to file complaints about health care facilities. Here’s how it works
The South Carolina Department of Public Health announced on Monday the launch of a new online portal that will help streamline complaints against health care facilities and professionals.
DPH enforces standards, inspects, and licenses facilities such as nursing homes, hospices, home health agencies, body piercing facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, tattoo facilities, adult day cares and renal dialysis facilities.
They also work with facilities to help them improve the quality and safety of the care they provide. Information from complaints helps with these efforts.
“The new complaint portal is for anyone who wishes to file a complaint against a health facility or service regulated by DPH,” said Gwen Thompson, the DPH’s deputy director of Healthcare Quality. “When you encounter issues with a health facility or service regulated by DPH, you have the right to voice your concerns.”
“It is our hope that this new portal will expedite the complaints and reporting process, making our state’s licensed facilities safer for all South Carolinians,” Thompson said.
Here’s how the new complaint portal works:
How SC complaint filing works
When you file a complaint, the DPH will ask you a series of questions on the form. On top of providing personal information, the complainant will have to provide answers to the following questions:
- What is the problem?
- Is the situation on-going?
- Are there any witnesses?
- Did you attempt to resolve the issue with the facility or provider?
Additionally, the new portal will auto-populate facility information the complainant may not know, including the facility’s license number, address, administrator and more, making it easier for the public to use and for DPH staff to triage.
The new portal can also be used by health care facilities and providers to report serious accidents and incidents, which are required to be reported to DPH.
Once the complaint is filed, the DPH will use the provided information to pinpoint exactly what DPH staff needs to address in their follow-up complaint investigations.
How to file a complaint
To submit a complaint, visit DPH’s File a Complaint webpage. If you are unable to submit your health facility complaint online, you can call DPH’s Healthcare Quality office at 1-800-922-6735 and indicate you wish to file a complaint about a health facility or service.
If you need to submit an EMS complaint form, click here.