Health Facility Complaint Portal Launch

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Published March 30th, 2026

Detected March 31st, 2026

Summary

The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) launched a new online complaint portal for licensed health care facilities and professionals. The portal streamlines complaint submission for the public and automates facility information lookup to assist DPH staff with triage. Healthcare facilities can also use the portal to report required serious accidents and incidents.

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What changed

DPH's Healthcare Quality division has launched a centralized web portal for complaints about regulated facilities including nursing homes, hospices, home health agencies, ambulatory surgical centers, and renal dialysis facilities. The portal auto-populates facility details such as license numbers and addresses to simplify submission, and includes a separate reporting pathway for facilities to submit mandatory incident reports.

Healthcare facilities regulated by DPH should be aware they can now use this portal to fulfill their statutory obligation to report serious accidents and incidents. Facilities should update internal processes to utilize the new portal for mandatory reporting. The public can use the portal or call 1-800-922-6735 if unable to submit online.

What to do next

Update incident reporting procedures to utilize the new DPH portal for mandatory facility reporting.
Bookmark the DPH File a Complaint webpage for reference when addressing patient complaints.
Train staff on the new portal's complaint submission process and available features.

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DPH Launches New Complaint Portal for Licensed Health Care Facilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 30, 2026

COLUMBIA, S.C. ― The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has launched a new online portal to make it easier for South Carolinians to submit complaints about licensed health care facilities and professionals.

DPH’s Deputy Area of Healthcare Quality regulates certain health care facilities and providers in South Carolina. DPH enforces standards, inspects, and licenses facilities such as nursing homes, hospices, home health agencies, body piercing facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, tattoo facilities, adult day cares and renal dialysis facilities. DPH also works with facilities to help them improve the quality and safety of the care they provide. Information from complaints helps with these efforts.

“The new complaints portal is for anyone who wishes to file a complaint against a health facility or service regulated by DPH,” Gwen Thompson, DPH’s deputy director of Healthcare Quality. “When you encounter issues with a health facility or service regulated by DPH, you have the right to voice your concerns. Our new portal will streamline that process, making it easier for people to submit complaints and assisting our staff in addressing their concerns.”

In the new portal, complainants will answer questions aimed at assisting users in pinpointing exactly what DPH staff need to address in their follow up complaint investigations. Additionally, the new portal will auto-populate facility information the complainant may not know, including the facility’s license number, address, administrator and more, making it easier for the public to use and for DPH staff to triage.

Additionally, the new portal can be used by health care facilities and providers to report serious accidents and incidents, which are required to be reported to DPH.

“It is our hope that this new portal will expedite the complaints and reporting process, making our state’s licensed facilities safer for all South Carolinians,” Thompson said.

To submit a complaint, visit DPH’s File a Complaint webpage. If you are unable to submit your health facility complaint online, you can call DPH’s Healthcare Quality office at 1-800-922-6735 and indicate you wish to file a complaint about a health facility or service.