Report a mistake or safety concern

Most health care facilities are licensed by the state. This includes hospitals, clinics, dialysis centers, ambulatory surgery centers or nursing homes. The Department of Public Health’s Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification will accept your complaint or concern.

What you should know:

• Submit your complaint form in writing by either fax or mail to the contact information [listed below or wherever it is].
• A 24-hour complaint line is also available to patients at 1-800-462-5540 or 1-617-753-8150.
• You may make an anonymous complaint, but providing your name and phone number allows DPH to provide you with updates regarding your complaint.

Mailing address:
Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification
Complaint Intake Unit
67 Forest Street
Marlborough, Massachusetts 01752
Fax number: 617-753-8165

Please note: to protect patient and resident privacy, all complaints must be made by fax, mail, or telephone. Do not use email for any complaint materials.

You can also file a complaint with The Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits most hospitals and many other health care organizations. You can report adverse events using this online form or by email, fax, or mail. The Joint Commission may follow up with the facility about your concern or investigate certain complaints.

Report instances of elder abuse or neglect by calling the state’s Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-800-922-2275 open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Abuse includes not only physical or sexual abuse, but also emotional or financial exploitation and neglect by a caregiver. 

Mail this complaint form to the state’s Department of Mental Health to report concerns about dangerous, illegal, or inhumane treatment of an individual receiving mental health services. The form should be used for any complaint involving a program or facility that DMH operates, contracts with, or licenses.

You may also direct questions to the DMH Director of Investigations at 1-617-626-8108 or the agency’s Information and Resource line at 1-800-221-0053.

Mailing address:
Department of Mental Health
Central Office of Investigations
25 Staniford Street
Boston, MA 02114

Let the state’s Office of Emergency Medical Services know about your concern by completing this EMS complaint form and submitting it via email, fax, or mail at the contact information listed below. For questions about the agency’s complaint process, call 1-617-753-7300.

Mailing address:
Office of Emergency Medical Services
Department of Public Health
67 Forest Street 
Marlborough, MA 01752
Fax: (617) 753-7320
Email: OEMS.Complaints@state.ma.us