INCIDENCE, SOURCE, AND NATURE OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED IN A LARGE, URBAN EMERGENCY MEDICAL-SERVICES SYSTEM

Objective: To document the incidence, source, and reasons for all comp laints received by a large municipal emergency medical services (EMS) program. Methods: A retrospective review of all complaints received du ring three consecutive years (1990-1992) in a centralized EMS system s erving a large municipality (population 2 million). All cases were cat egorized by year, source, and nature of the complaint. Results: In the three study;ears, EMS responded to 416,892 incidents with nearly a ha lf-million patient contacts. Concurrently, 371 complaints were receive d (incidence of 1.12 per thousand); 132 in 1990, 129 in 1991, and 110 in 1992. Most complaints involved either: 1) allegations of ''rude or unprofessional conduct'' (34%), 2) ''didn't take patient to the hospit al'' (19%), or 3) ''problems with medical treatment'' (13%). Only 1.6% (n = 6) were response-time complaints. Other complaints included ''lo st/damaged property,'' ''taken to the wrong hospital,'' ''inappropriat e billing,'' and ''poor driving habits.'' The most common sources were patient's families (39%) and the patients themselves (30%). Only 7.8% were from health care providers. Conclusion: Reviews of complaints pr ovide information regarding EMS system performance and reveal targets for quality improvement. For the EMS system examined, this study sugge sts a future training focus on interpersonal skills and heightened sen sitivities, not only toward patients, but also toward bystanders and f amily members.