Does government-owned hospitals really make use of complaint management to protect tax payers? : a case study of Bantul district hospital

Background: Hospitals are generally moving towards a system of management based on business concepts that lead to market mechanisms and principles of efficiency. The concern for customers shown by the existence of mechanisms to recognize what is required by customers and by service providers reflects the values ??prevailing in the organization. Indicators of service (BOR) in Panembahan Senopati Bantul District Hospital reached 89.28%; this suggested that the utilization of beds had already exceeded the standard. This could lead to undesirable conditions when good quality services in terms of facilities and infrastructure including the management were not appropriately done. Objective: To determine the strategy of complaints management in the implementation of quality management systems at Panembahan Senopati District Hospital, Bantul. Method: This was a case-study research and the subjects were patients in outpatient and inpatient units selected by purposive sampling. The instruments were interviews to director, head of development section, and public relations, and observations. The data analysis was done descriptively and qualitatively. Results: Bantul District Government and hospital board of directors had implemented TQM, although it had not yet implemented optimally. Standard operating procedures (SOPs)and special teams that managed complaints were not fully provided. Various facilities to deliver complaints had been available such as suggestion boxes, SMS center, telephone, web, email, and dialogues through radio and television as well as printed media. External customers preferred direct complaint delivery but in fact more external customers used SMS center to convey their complaints. Complaint management that had been set by the director had not been implemented totaly, especially in terms of follow-up. Conclusion: In order to fully implement complaint management, there should be special teams or units that handle complaints equipped with SOPs in all lines