Office of the Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2001-02

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Misleading advertising The HSC has received complaints from people who believe they have been misled by advertising and have paid high prices for medical procedures without the desired outcomes. Examples of such services include some impotency clinics and clinics providing cosmetic treatments such as Botox injections and liposuction. On January 29, 2001 the HSC cooperated with the ACCC by participating in a Web Sweep looking for health services and products making unrealistic promises. The HSC has also cooperated with the ACCC using a shared Memorandum of Understanding by arranging for consumers with concerns about advertising to be referred to the ACCC. Staff employed by clinics offering health services contacted HSC concerned about advertising practices they found unethical and possibly unlawful. HSC does not have jurisdiction to receive complaints from employees unless they have the consent of patients. The ACCC and the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria can deal with such complaints and complainants were given guidance to assist them to make complaints to these organisations. People continue to raise issues about the cost of health services. Those who are privately insured are concerned about the high costs they face after contributions from their funds. Those who rely on bulk billing are also commenting that clinics are no longer offering this service. This is even more of a problem for people in rural areas who have little or no alternatives in health services. The HSC has limited powers to assist such people and is concerned that their health needs are not being met. Where appropriate they are referred to agencies such as the Health Insurance Ombudsman or the ACCC and the HSC to bring these concerns to the attention of appropriate policy makers, government and professional associations. A woman complained that the Clinic in her town had changed hands and would now only offer bulk billing to aged pensioners. She said that she lived on a very limited income and often could not afford to pay at the time of consultation. With the encouragement of HSC she asked her doctor if allowances could be made for her to pay her account within two weeks of a consultation. The doctor agreed to this arrangement. ANALYSIS OF COMPLAINT TRENDS 2001/2002 SUMMARY In the past, potential complaints were counted once as telephone calls and again as complaints when they were entered onto the database. To achieve greater data reliability a new practice was adopted and appears in this report. Complaints are now counted either as telephone calls or as they were received in writing. This could make it look as if fewer complaints were received during the period under review than in the previous period. Such a comparison would be invalid, as the old system reported the amount of work done by the Office while the new system reports the number of complaints actually handled. Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2001/2002 13
Complaints and enquiries are received on the telephone, by mail and in person. Some of these involve giving advice and information and are recorded as enquiries. People who make complaints about health services are sent a complaint form and the details are recorded as a case on the database. About one half of these initial contacts go on to become managed complaints (cases) when a complaint form is returned. The total number of enquiries and cases for 2001/2002 is 7891. When a complaint is made, a prompt and courteous response and, where appropriate, an apology assists the matter to be resolved promptly. On the other hand delays, secretiveness, refusals to respond can escalate disputes. The Commissioner is grateful to all providers who responded to complaints and assisted in their resolution. Thanks are also due to those who take the time and effort to lodge a complaint. All parties are urged to view complaints in a positive way so they can raise important issues and lead to quality improvements. Most complainants are seeking improvements in services and they tell HSC they want to know what went wrong and why, and they seek reassurance that what happened to them will not happen to someone else. Table 1 below shows the complaints and enquiries received by the Commissioner during 2001/2002 and Figure 1 gives the number of complaints and enquiries for the past two years. Table 1. New Complaints and Enquiries Complaints Enquires by telephone Single contact Accepted Cases Total 5525 1107 1259 7891 Figure 1. Complaints & Enquiries 2001-2002 2000-2001 Complaints & Enquiries (July - June) 5525 5154 1259 1270 1107 1526 Accepted Cases Single Contact Complaints Phone Enquiries In 2001/2002 the total number of enquiries was 5525 compared with 5154 in the previous year. This is an increase of 371 or 7% over the previous year. While the number of overall complaint calls and letters decreased from 2796 in 2000/2001 to 2366 in the year under review, the number of accepted cases (1259) was similar to that of the previous year (1270). As in previous years approximately half of the complaints received by HSC are closed following a single contact. The other half proceed to become accepted cases. Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2001/2002 14
Page 2 and 3: TABLE OF CONTENTS COMMISSIONER’S
Page 4 and 5: COMMISSIONER’S SUMMARY This year
Page 6 and 7: HEALTH SERVICES REVIEW COUNCIL PRES
Page 8 and 9: The legislation amends the role and
Page 10 and 11: 4) Working with the Commissioner to
Page 12 and 13: EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS The guid
Page 16 and 17: ENQUIRIES An enquiry is defined as
Page 18 and 19: Table 4. Consumer Profile Age Range
Page 20 and 21: Table 6. Resolution in Assessment O
Page 22 and 23: Registration Board either at the ve
Page 24 and 25: Figure 3. Prisoner Complaints 69 Pr
Page 26 and 27: Primary issues in complaints 2001/2
Page 28 and 29: Table 12 below sets out access issu
Page 30 and 31: CATEGORIES OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST HE
Page 32 and 33: DENTISTS There were 126 complaints
Page 34 and 35: Figure 10. Public Hospital Complain
Page 36 and 37: Complaints about psychiatric care i
Page 38 and 39: Figure 15. HCIP - Gender Consumer G
Page 40 and 41: HOW SERIOUS WERE THE COMPLAINTS? El
Page 42 and 43: Staff of the Commission Organisatio
Page 44 and 45: Finance Budget The Budget for the 2
Page 46 and 47: APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 - Providers b
Page 48 and 49: APPENDIX 3 - HCIP Issues Access 29%
Page 50: APPENDIX 5 - HCIP Outcomes Resolved

Office of the Health Services Commissioner Annual Report 2001-02

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