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Your Rights Testimonials
 

Your Options

What should you do if you have a concern about, or are not satisfied with the quality of the medical care you received?

  1. Call IPRO at 1-866-391-4682 and describe your concern. One of our trained staff will listen and help you decide what to do. One of your choices is to make a formal complaint.
  2. If you decide you want to make a formal complaint, we can help you put it in writing. Once IPRO receives the written complaint, the quality of care review will begin.

Your case may be suitable for mediation, a free service for Medicare members which is an alternative to resolve your concerns by talking directly with your doctor.

Who conducts the review and what does it include?

Depending on the case, any of our physician reviewers can review your complaint. (A physician reviewer is a practicing physician who works with IPRO to address quality of care concerns.) A case manager will contact you once the complaint is filed and serve as your point of contact throughout the process.

The physician reviewer looks at all aspects of care surrounding your complaint, and makes an initial finding that is shared with the health care provider or facility your complaint is related to. Your health care provider/facility also has the opportunity to comment. IPRO works directly with you and your provider to resolve the problem and make sure that you and other Medicare members receive the best care possible.

The entire process takes anywhere from three to six months.

How and when to contact us:

An IPRO staff member is available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. However, you can leave a message on the line any time of the day or night, Monday through Sunday.

Call IPRO at 1-866-391-4682 if:

  • You wish to discuss the quality of care you receive
  • You want to file a formal quality of care complaint

Examples of Poor Quality of Care

  • Medication issues - overdose, wrong medication, missed dose, administration errors
  • Unnecessary surgery/diagnostic testing
  • Delay in service
  • Inadequate care or treatment by any Medicare hospital or doctor
  • Premature discharge
  • Change in condition that was not treated/misdiagnosis
  • Inadequate discharge instruction

Not from New York?

If you reside outside of New York State, you should contact your state's QIO. A full list of QIOs is available from the MedQIC Web site.

Testimonials

Links

link News
link Events
link Anatomy of a Complaint
link Downloads
link Not from New York?
link Not Covered by Medicare?
link For Professionals


Call IPRO's Quality of Care Concern Toll-Free Helpine: 1-866-391-4682

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This material was prepared by IPRO, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for New York State, under contract with the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The
contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.

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