"If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the board with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing he will need a record of the proceedings and that for such a purpose he may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceeding is made which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based." -- CL Brumback Clinics Public Meetings
COMPLAINTS ARE A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE LIFE OF THE CLINICS
The COMPLAINT PROCEDURE is a way for patients to resolve issues large and small, and serve as an impetus to improve the QUALITY of care throughout the organization.
If you have a minor complaint, you may choose to leave a simple handwritten note (anonymously or with your disclosed identity) in the boxes located in the main waiting rooms of any CL Brumback Clinic. Alternatively, you might choose to use the FEEDBACK form on the official CL Brumback Clinics WEBSITE.
Be sure to adequately describe the problem, and any suggestion you might offer to resolve it.
On the other hand, if you have a more concerning issue during a visit to a Brumback Clinic, you might consider speaking directly with the Practice Manager onsite. Sometimes an issue might be thoroughly and immediately resolved on the spot. If not, the Practice Manager can advise you on how you might continue to escalate your concerns to a higher staff level.
If you have accessed all staff resources, and still believe there is any serious problem that should be addressed, you might consider contacting the Board of Directors of the clinics. You can find a link to the BOD pages from the HOME page of this website, to correspond directly with one or more members of the Board. CL Brumback BOD meetings are PUBLIC, and usually convened once a month, and you may consider attending one of these meetings if you wish to speak publicly about your concerns. (At a PUBLIC meeting, the Board is required by law to allow public input.)
CL Brumback is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), governed in part by regulations issued by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). If you have failed to resolve your issue on all local levels, you may consider contacting HRSA. You can learn more about HRSA and FQHCs at other pages on this website, or thru the links provided in the Footers of all these pages.
If you have a minor complaint, you may choose to leave a simple handwritten note (anonymously or with your disclosed identity) in the boxes located in the main waiting rooms of any CL Brumback Clinic. Alternatively, you might choose to use the FEEDBACK form on the official CL Brumback Clinics WEBSITE.
Be sure to adequately describe the problem, and any suggestion you might offer to resolve it.
On the other hand, if you have a more concerning issue during a visit to a Brumback Clinic, you might consider speaking directly with the Practice Manager onsite. Sometimes an issue might be thoroughly and immediately resolved on the spot. If not, the Practice Manager can advise you on how you might continue to escalate your concerns to a higher staff level.
If you have accessed all staff resources, and still believe there is any serious problem that should be addressed, you might consider contacting the Board of Directors of the clinics. You can find a link to the BOD pages from the HOME page of this website, to correspond directly with one or more members of the Board. CL Brumback BOD meetings are PUBLIC, and usually convened once a month, and you may consider attending one of these meetings if you wish to speak publicly about your concerns. (At a PUBLIC meeting, the Board is required by law to allow public input.)
CL Brumback is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), governed in part by regulations issued by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). If you have failed to resolve your issue on all local levels, you may consider contacting HRSA. You can learn more about HRSA and FQHCs at other pages on this website, or thru the links provided in the Footers of all these pages.
The Office for Civil Rights of the Health and Human Services Cabinet Level Agency of the United States Government has broad authority over Federal civil rights laws and the Health Insurance and Accountability Act (commonly known as HIPAA) Privacy Rule.
Federal civil rights laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, together protect your fundamental rights of nondiscrimination and health information privacy. Civil Rights help to protect you from unfair treatment or discrimination, because of your race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex (gender), or religion. Federal laws also provide conscience protections for health care providers.
The Privacy Rule protects the privacy of your health information; it says who can look at and receive your health information, and also gives you specific rights over that information. In addition, the Patient Safety Act and Rule establish a voluntary reporting system to enhance the data available to assess and resolve patient safety and health care quality issues and provides confidentiality protections for patient safety concerns.
You can access the Complaint Portal Page of the Office for Civil Rights HERE.
Federal civil rights laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, together protect your fundamental rights of nondiscrimination and health information privacy. Civil Rights help to protect you from unfair treatment or discrimination, because of your race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex (gender), or religion. Federal laws also provide conscience protections for health care providers.
The Privacy Rule protects the privacy of your health information; it says who can look at and receive your health information, and also gives you specific rights over that information. In addition, the Patient Safety Act and Rule establish a voluntary reporting system to enhance the data available to assess and resolve patient safety and health care quality issues and provides confidentiality protections for patient safety concerns.
You can access the Complaint Portal Page of the Office for Civil Rights HERE.
CL BRUMBACK PUBLIC PATIENT COMPLAINTS
ANONYMOUS COMPLAINT :: A Delray Beach CL Brumback patient reports that during a recent visit, an MA (Medical Assistant) seemed to ask some casual questions about how the patient was feeling, and whether or not the patient had been depressed lately. The patient responded in the negative, and didn't think anymore about it, until the time came to leave the clinic. Glancing at discharge papers, the patient noticed a coded entry marked as 'Depression Screening.' The patient was incensed that a mental health evaluation had been administered at neither the patient's request, nor with the patient's informed consent. Neither was the procedure even administered by a competent mental health practitioner. The patient sought out the Practice Manager, who diligently listened to the patient's complaint, and advised that there was a procedure to remove elements from the patient's Health Record, and produced a form for the patient to fill out requesting that the procedure be erased from the record. The patient filled out the form, and hand delivered it to the Practice Manager, who submitted it on behalf of the patient. A couple of weeks later, the patient received a certified letter in the (snail) mail, advising that the request to delete the procedure from the record had been denied. The right of a patient to refuse treatment of any kind is well established, and the patient now wishes to make this anonymous public appeal to the Board of Directors to intervene, and bring forth a motion to order staff to respect patient's rights, and to delete this entry from the patient's records. Of course, the Practice Manager is aware of the identity of the patient.
The patient offers an informative link to substantiate the patient's right to refuse any treatment, at any time, based on established and recognized rights of autonomy: http://missinglink.ucsf.edu/lm/ethics/Content%20Pages/fast_fact_tx_refusal.htm
ANONYMOUS COMPLAINT :: A Brumback patient reports that over the last year three of the patient's doctors have left the Clinics, or been reassigned without any notice to patients. (And the patient has not been reassigned to a Physician.)
ANONYMOUS COMPLAINT :: A patient complains that the Clinics may be inadvertently serving as vectors for germs, bacteria, and other pathogens via all the door handles that are routinely touched by all patients who enter the clinics, especially through the front doors, which are used by both sick and well visitors. The patient suggests that automatic doors would be the most efficient solution. Publix is probably the company with the most automatic doors in use in PBC. Maybe Publix would consider sponsoring or co-sponsoring the installation and maintenance of automatic doors for the clinics, many of whose clients are also Publix customers.
ANONYMOUS COMPLAINT :: A patient who was enrolled in the Health Care District's "OPTIONS" program 7 months ago was denied eligibility based on the fact that she has secured a new job. The patient moved from another state early in the year, and had only worked January and February in that state. Even with the patient's new employment status, the patient reports that income will not exceed current Federal Poverty Guidelines, and complains that coverage should have been continued upon review at least through the current calendar year.