Managing patient complaints - Dr Malpani's guide for IVF specialists

The best way to manage complaints is to prevent them. This is why patient education becomes so important.


The trouble is that IVF doctors are very busy, and don't have time to sit and talk to their patients.



Also, for the first consultation, the IVF specialist is usually in "sell mode" and is trying to do his best to convince the infertile couple is that he is the best IVF doctor in town and that they should come to him for their IVF treatment.

He is very likely to overpromise - and fill the patient with lots of false hope, based on sweet talking them, or quoting highly inflated success rates.


While it's easy to fool gullible patients, it's not possible to fool all the patients all the time, and this kind of behaviour is very short-sighted because it comes back to haunt the doctor when the IVF cycle fails.

Patients feel cheated , and feel the IVF failure was a result of the doctor's negligence or incompetence. Even worse, lots of doctors refuse to see patients when the cycle fails. Because the doctor is too busy doing consultations for new patients, the old patients are fobbed off and handed over to an assistant or a nurse. Patients feel abandoned and are angry and vengeful.


It's important that patients have realistic expectations of IVF treatment - they need to understand that the outcome of an IVF cycle is always uncertain and not in anyone's control. If this is explained before the cycle starts, patients are much better able to come to terms with IVF failure, and are much less likely to complain unnecessarily.



This is why doctors need to be proactive, and educate patients, either using books to do so; or with the help or nurses, assistants and counsellors.


We use our IVF Comic book ( which you can download free); and the free IVF e-learning course at www.ivfindia.com to ensure that patients have realistic expectations of our treatment. The fact that we are willing to discuss failure openly actually helps mature IVF patients to increase their trust in us.

Have complaints about your IVF doctor ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you better !