Facility Grievance Process Improvement

2020 Grievances and Access to Care Overview

One of the Network’s roles is to address patient grievances as well as to help to ensure patients have appropriate access to care. The Network has developed several resources to help facilities to improve their internal grievance process and educate staff and patients on the definition of grievance and the process available to address them.

• View the 2020 Grievance Webinar Recording
  • Download the slides
• Notification of Grievance Definition Memo

My Network: What do I do if I have a Grievance?

Forum of ESRD Network Grievance Toolkit

This toolkit for patients by patients was developed by the Forum of ESRD Networks’ Patient Advisory Council and is available in English and Spanish.

Tune Up to Speak Up-Tools to Improve the Grievance Process and Patient Satisfaction

“Tune Up to Speak Up” resources were developed as part of a Network project to improve the grievance process and patient satisfaction at the facility level. Three main components are incorporated into this comprehensive approach:  1) process “tune up”; 2) patient partnership; and 3) opportunities for positive interactions through the “Take 5 to Tune In” strategy. The process “tune up” includes the inclusion of new grievance logs, letters, staff and patient educational materials and tools for QAPI.  Patient Partnership incorporates the Network Patient Representative into QAPI activities and patient education to address grievance trends. Scheduling and temperature were trends commonly identified in dialysis facilities, “Words of Wisdom- Scheduling” provides facilities with ideas from patients on how the process for scheduling can be more patient friendly. The creation of opportunities for positive staff interactions is done through the use of the “Take 5 to Tune In Strategy”.

Process Tune Up Resources:

• Tune Up to Speak Up – QAPI Quick Start Guide
• Grievance Process Flow Chart
• Grievance Staff Q&A
• Staff Grievance Poster
• Grievance Log Template
• Speak Up – Clinic Grievance Flyer (English)
• Speak Up – Clinic Grievance Flyer (Spanish)
• Grievance Acknowledgement Letter
• Grievance Outcome Letter (Iowa)
• Grievance Outcome Letter (Kansas)
• Grievance Outcome Letter (Missouri)
• Grievance Outcome Letter (Nebraska)
• Sustainability Planning Tool

Staff Education: “Huddle Up to Improve the Grievance Process”

• Heartland Huddle: Grievance Definition
• Heartland Huddle: Grievance Process
• Heartland Huddle: Retaliation

Patient Partnership:

• NPR Program
• “Tips For How To Be An Effective Patient or Family Advisor”
• Patient Invitation to QAPI

Take 5 to Tune In

“Take 5 to Tune In” was developed as a strategy to “formalize” one-to-one patient and staff conversations not related to dialysis.  This provides an opportunity for staff to have focused (uninterrupted) time to sit down with patients just to get to know more about them as an individual.