Grievance Procedure
Delaware Guidance Services is committed to providing the highest quality behavioral health services possible. Nevertheless, there may be times when you disagree with decisions made by our staff. Should this situation occur, please follow the steps listed below:
1) Contact the staff member and attempt to resolve any differences directly.
2) If this is not satisfactory, you may choose to contact the staff member’s supervisor or Clinical Coordinator (our personnel at the front desk can assist you obtaining contact information). Please inform the supervisor of the situation and help create a plan to work toward resolving the issue.
3) If this response is still not satisfactory, please contact the Clinical Director to discuss the situation.
4) If you believe the issue is still not resolved, you may contact the Executive Director of DGS, who may be reached at our Wilmington office (302) 652-3948.
DGS is accredited by the Joint Commission. If you believe you have an issue that would affect our accreditation, you can send an email to complaint@jointcommission.org. You can also fax your issues/concerns to (630)792-5636.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with DGS:
Privacy Officer
Delaware Guidance Services
103 Mont Blanc Blvd.
Dover, DE 19904
(302) 678-3030
If you still have concerns, you may contact Department of Health and Human Services:
You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Ave. S.W., Room 509F HHH Building, Washington, DC 20201, calling (877) 696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
HIPAA Compliance
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets the standard for sensitive patient data protection. Companies that deal with protected health information (PHI) must have physical, network, and process security measures in place and follow them to ensure HIPAA Compliance.
Filing a Complaint
If you believe that a HIPAA-covered entity or its business associate violated your (or someone else’s) health information privacy rights or committed another violation of the Privacy, Security, or Breach Notification Rules, you may file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR can investigate complaints against covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses, or health care providers that conduct certain transactions electronically) and their business associates.
In accordance with the Office for Personnel Management’s and CDC’s guidelines on COVID 19, HHS personnel are teleworking. OCR is committed to handling your complaint as quickly as possible. However, for faster processing we strongly encourage you to use the OCR online portal to file complaints rather than filing via mail as our personnel on site is limited.
