What to do when having problems in your center.

[kitkatz]

 Sometimes as a dialysis patient you are stuck at the center you are in because of insurance or billing or transportation issues, and are having to make the best of a bad situation. If you are being neglected or need help and feel you are not getting it start with a letter to the FA in the center. Keep to the facts in your letter, no feelings. Make suggestions for making it better. They have to answer your written complaint in a timely manner. If that does not work, the social worker can be contacted. If your complaint is not resolved then call the phone numbers every patient in the US is given for Medicare complaints. Write down all your phone calls and keep logs of written letters to people. I have found when I had a problem a written complaint usually gets action. Sometimes no one realizes there is an issue.


Anyone have other suggestions or personal stories of how they solved problems?

[Simon Dog]

I was a visitor in TX.  At 104 kg, a 160 filter "meets goal" but a 180 (which is prescribed in my home clinic, and many other clinics I visited) does a better job.   I was told "all visitors get a 160, clinic policy".'

I filed a written complaint, suggesting that the solution was to change the policy as giving me a smaller filter was functionally equivalent to me coming off early, and suggesting they re-read the advice they give patients about that.

I got a nice letter back.  2/3 of it explained why they did nothing wrong.  The final 1/3 said that they were changing the policy.

[PrimeTimer]

When they changed the delivery method of some of our home supplies, I wrote a letter to the clinic. No emotion in it, just stated specific concerns (in this case, safety) while also including the fact that the original delivery method was what we had been "sold" on when deciding to do home-hemo. Gave the letter to my husband's nurse and she filed a grievance for him. Problem was fixed with no hurt feelings. Keep calm and carry on! I think...

[Michael Murphy]

My fight was with the hospital that half owns the clinic I use.  Last winter in the middle of a cold snap they changed the pick place for the patients that are ambulatory but need transport in New Jersey it's a bus service called access link.  I complained to the center and was told that the legal department approved the move.  Well the next session was on a day that was forecasted for below zero temperatures so I called the public relations department for the hospital and told them I would be taking my iPhone and videoing the patients standing in the cold waiting to be picked up, they had not even put in benches. I said I would be providing the video to the local tv stations.  When I showed up the hospital moved the pickup point to the entrance had the patients wait in the lobby and provided chairs to sit in.  Problem solved.

[PrimeTimer]

My fight was with the hospital that half owns the clinic I use.  Last winter in the middle of a cold snap they changed the pick place for the patients that are ambulatory but need transport in New Jersey it's a bus service called access link.  I complained to the center and was told that the legal department approved the move.  Well the next session was on a day that was forecasted for below zero temperatures so I called the public relations department for the hospital and told them I would be taking my iPhone and videoing the patients standing in the cold waiting to be picked up, they had not even put in benches. I said I would be providing the video to the local tv stations.  When I showed up the hospital moved the pickup point to the entrance had the patients wait in the lobby and provided chairs to sit in.  Problem solved.

Those other patients should be grateful that you were proactive.

[Zach]

My fight was with the hospital that half owns the clinic I use.  Last winter in the middle of a cold snap they changed the pick place for the patients that are ambulatory but need transport in New Jersey it's a bus service called access link.  I complained to the center and was told that the legal department approved the move.  Well the next session was on a day that was forecasted for below zero temperatures so I called the public relations department for the hospital and told them I would be taking my iPhone and videoing the patients standing in the cold waiting to be picked up, they had not even put in benches. I said I would be providing the video to the local tv stations.  When I showed up the hospital moved the pickup point to the entrance had the patients wait in the lobby and provided chairs to sit in.  Problem solved.