We may perhaps use the same analogy to consider what may be usefully gained from the complaints process. It may be that what we can see from the complaints received is only the tip of the ‘complaints iceberg’. Nonetheless, just as it is useful to work from what is visible to try to discern pointers as to what is happening in the greater, unearthed portion, so there may perhaps be useful ‘lesson...

1. On August 8, 2005, the District Attorney’s Office of the Canton of Zug opened a criminal investigation against an unknown party regarding disloyal management to the detriment of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (hereinafter FIFA). The initial suspicion that led to the opening of the proceedings resulted from the taking of evidence, which was done in the context of the invest...

An issue of great concern to medical practitioners, both in the public and private sectors, is complaints on medical services. This two-part series aims to present a more positive side of dealing with complaints received in our health care system. In the first part in this issue, we raise the possibility of achieving positive organisational enhancements through a more complete and efficient mon...

INTRODUCTION Dizziness, a common symptom that affects more than 90 million Americans, has been reported to be the most common complaint in patients 75 years of age or older. Dizziness, however, is a common term used to describe multiple sensations (vertigo, presyncope, disequilibrium), each having numerous etiologies. It is often difficult for a physician to elucidate the quality of dizziness a...

Abdominal pain is a common presenting complaint among adult patients presenting to the emergency department. Triage to medical versus surgical management is crucial for improved outcome. Here, we present the case of a 46-year-old man who presented with subacute onset of migratory abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and hematochezia. Abdominal x-ray was normal but a CT scan revealed intussusception...

BACKGROUND A common finding in several studies is patients' dissatisfaction with complaint handling in health care. The reasons why are for the greater part unknown. The key to an answer may be found in a better understanding of patients' expectations. We investigated patients' expectations of complaint handling in hospitals. METHODS Subjects were patients who had lodged a complaint at the co...

Back pain is a common complaint of women during pregnancy. It is frequently dismissed as trivial and inevitable. This article gives an overview of recent research on pregnancy-related back pain that documents the impact of this pain on women's lives, during and beyond the childbearing year. It argues for a more active approach to the prevention and management of back pain during pregnancy. Two ...