Frequency of Patient Complaints Before and After Legal Medicine Consultation in Orthopedic Ward

Background: Patient who complain of the health community are unpleasant and may endanger the honor of the medical community. However, patients’ complaints can improve the quality of medical services, increase the accuracy of the medical staff, and reduce diagnostic and treatment costs. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of patients’ complaints before and after legal medicine consultation in the orthopedic ward of Taleghani hospital in Tehran, Iran. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study investigated the frequency of the complaints of 460 patients before and after legal medicine consultation from spring 2011 to winter 2017. Data were analyzed by excel. Results: The results of this study showed that the frequency of complaints was lowest in spring and highest in fall. The number of complaints and frequencies also decreased over time compared with the previous year. The lowest number of complaints was in 2011 and the highest in 2013. Conclusion: In this study, performing legal medicine consultation in Taleghani hospital in Tehran, Iran reduced the number of registered complaints.