Patient Relations Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Yes. A patient liaison is a neutral third party that can help resolve issues between you and Northwestern Medicine. The goal of our patient liaisons is to make care better.

Patient Relations helps resolve patient, family and caregiver complaints about the care they or a loved one receive. These include dissatisfaction with care at any point during your care journey and communications issues. Northwestern Medicine employees or physicians can also contact the Patient Relations team with issues.

Patients, families, visitors, providers and staff.

You can find phone numbers for Patient Relations on our Patient Relations contact page. You may also submit a complaint or compliment via our Contact Us form.

Medical interpreters are available both in person and via telehealth technology. You can also access an interpreter to file a complaint if your preferred language is not English.

Northwestern Medicine has an established process for the prompt investigation and resolution of complaints. We will assign you a patient liaison to investigate your complaint and work alongside you and your care team to resolve the issues. After resolution is achieved, we will put your complaint into a database and include it in reports we send to hospital leadership. We will continue to use this information in order to make care better.

Yes. However, we encourage you to share your information if you are comfortable doing so. This allows the Patient Relations team to thoroughly investigate your concern.

No. Please contact the unit, office or department where you think you left your belongings, or Northwestern Medicine Security Services.

No. Please contact the Medical Records Department directly to request a copy of medical records or make other requests related to your health record. You can also access your records through MyNM.

No. Please contact the Financial Counseling team at 800.423.0523 (TTY: 711) or visit a Financial Counseling office at any Northwestern Medicine hospital.