Doctors (Primary Care) in Grand Rapids, MI – How to Make a Complaint

If you feel uneasy about your doctor’s conduct, performance, or the service you received in Grand Rapids, trust your judgment. Whether you see a primary care doctor at Spectrum Health, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health, Mercy Health, or a smaller clinic, you have the right to safe, respectful, and professional care.

This guide explains how to make a complaint about a doctor (GP/primary care provider) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and what local resources can help.

When You Should Consider Making a Complaint

You may want to raise a concern or file a complaint if you believe your doctor:

  • Acted unprofessionally (rude, dismissive, discriminatory, or abusive)
  • Provided unsafe or inappropriate medical care
  • Ignored your symptoms or refused to listen
  • Violated your privacy or shared confidential information without consent
  • Crossed professional boundaries (including financial, emotional, or sexual)
  • Failed to follow up on important tests or referrals

In West Michigan, where chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and seasonal respiratory illnesses are common, safe and effective primary care is especially important—particularly during cold Grand Rapids winters and flu season.

First Steps: Talk It Through

1. Speak with Someone You Trust

Before making a formal complaint, it can help to talk with:

  • A trusted family member or friend
  • Another healthcare professional (nurse, social worker, pharmacist, or another doctor)
  • A patient advocate or social worker at your hospital or clinic

They may help you:

  • Clarify what happened
  • Decide whether it rises to the level of a formal complaint
  • Plan what you want to say or write

2. Raise the Issue with the Doctor or Clinic

If you feel safe and comfortable:

  • Talk directly with your doctor about what concerned you.
  • Or speak with the clinic manager, office administrator, or patient relations department at:
    • Spectrum Health (Corewell Health) primary care offices in Grand Rapids
    • Trinity Health Grand Rapids clinics
    • Metro Health – University of Michigan Health primary care
    • Mercy Health primary care clinics

You can do this:

  • In person
  • By phone
  • In writing (email, patient portal message, or letter)

Often, this is the quickest way to resolve a complaint. Misunderstandings can sometimes be corrected with a clear conversation.

How to Prepare Your Complaint

Whether you speak in person or write a letter, it helps to be organized and specific.

What to Write Down

Include:

  • What happened – describe the events in order
  • Dates and times of appointments or phone calls
  • Names and roles of everyone involved (doctor, nurse, receptionist, etc.)
  • Where it happened – name of the clinic, hospital, or practice
  • How it affected you – medically, emotionally, or financially
  • What you want to happen next, such as:
    • An explanation or apology
    • A correction in your medical record
    • A change in the way the clinic handles a particular issue
    • Being assigned to a different doctor

Keep copies of everything you send or receive.

Ask for a Written Response

When you submit a complaint to a Grand Rapids healthcare provider:

  • Ask for written confirmation that they received your complaint.
  • Ask when you can expect a response (many organizations respond within 30–60 days).
  • Keep a record of:
    • The date you sent the complaint
    • Who you sent it to
    • Any reference or case number they give you

If the response is delayed or unsatisfactory, you can escalate your concern to outside agencies.

If You’re Not Satisfied: Escalating Your Complaint in Michigan

If you don’t feel comfortable complaining directly to the doctor or clinic, or if their response does not resolve your concern, you have other options.

1. Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)

In Michigan, doctors (including primary care physicians) are licensed and regulated through:

  • Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)
    Bureau of Professional Licensing

LARA can investigate complaints about:

  • Professional misconduct
  • Substandard medical care
  • Boundary violations (including sexual, financial, or emotional exploitation)
  • Impairment due to substance use or mental health issues that affect safe practice

You can file a complaint online through the LARA Health Professional Complaint process. LARA can:

  • Investigate concerns
  • Take disciplinary action (such as fines, probation, suspension, or revocation of license)
  • Place conditions or restrictions on a doctor’s license

2. Michigan Board of Medicine

Serious concerns about a physician’s professional conduct or competence may be reviewed by the Michigan Board of Medicine, which:

  • Sets standards for medical practice in Michigan
  • Can take action to protect the public
  • Ensures doctors meet professional and ethical expectations

The Board may:

  • Issue a warning or reprimand
  • Require additional education or counseling
  • Restrict, suspend, or revoke a physician’s license in serious cases

Local Help in Grand Rapids: Patient Rights and Public Health

Kent County Health Department & Grand Rapids Public Health Resources

For general questions about patient rights, healthcare access, or local health services in Grand Rapids, you can contact:

  • Kent County Health Department – offers information on public health programs, immunizations, and community clinics
  • Grand Rapids Public Health and community health centers – can guide you to local resources, especially if your complaint involves access to care or discrimination

These agencies don’t discipline individual doctors, but they can:

  • Help you understand your options
  • Direct you to the correct state or licensing body
  • Provide support if your complaint involves broader public health concerns

Professional Standards for Doctors in Grand Rapids, MI

Good medical practice in Michigan is based on:

  • Trust and respect between doctor and patient
  • Clear communication about diagnoses, treatment options, and risks
  • Privacy and confidentiality of your health information
  • Informed consent before examinations, tests, or procedures

Your doctor should:

  • Treat you with courtesy, respect, and compassion
  • Listen to your concerns and answer questions in plain language
  • Encourage you to be informed and involved in decisions about your care
  • Respect your cultural background, beliefs, and preferences
  • Maintain accurate and complete medical records

This is especially important in Grand Rapids, where diverse communities may face language, cultural, or economic barriers to care.

Professional Boundaries: What Is Not Acceptable

Doctors in Grand Rapids must maintain strict professional boundaries. It is never appropriate for a doctor to:

  • Engage in a sexual, romantic, or exploitative relationship with:
    • A current patient
    • A former patient, in many cases
    • A close relative of a patient

Even if a patient appears to consent, such a relationship:

  • Can cloud the doctor’s judgment
  • May compromise the quality of care
  • Is considered unprofessional and may be grounds for disciplinary action

If a patient seeks this type of relationship, the doctor is responsible for:

  • Clearly stating that it cannot happen
  • Referring the patient to another provider if needed

Examples of Unprofessional Sexual Conduct

The following behaviors are not acceptable and may be grounds for a complaint:

  • Asking for unnecessary or irrelevant details about your sexual history or preferences
  • Making sexual jokes, innuendo, or comments about your body or clothing
  • Touching you in any way you have not consented to, or continuing an exam after you say stop
  • Conducting a physical exam that is not medically required or not explained
  • Flirting, asking you out, or seeking a romantic/sexual relationship
  • Discussing the doctor’s own sexual problems or fantasies with you
  • Using social media or personal messaging to contact you in a sexual or overly personal way

If any of these occur in a Grand Rapids clinic, hospital, or private practice, you have the right to:

  • End the appointment
  • Ask for a chaperone or another staff member to be present
  • Request a different provider
  • File a complaint with the clinic and with state authorities

All allegations of sexual assault should also be reported to law enforcement.

Other Boundary Violations (Non-Sexual)

Doctors must also avoid:

  • Inappropriate financial relationships, such as:
    • Pressuring you to purchase products directly from them without clear medical need
    • Steering you to services or facilities where they have a hidden financial interest
  • Emotional or psychological exploitation, such as:
    • Using your personal information to manipulate you
    • Expressing personal beliefs in a way that shames, threatens, or exploits your vulnerability

If you experience this in a Grand Rapids medical setting, you can raise a complaint with the clinic and with LARA/Board of Medicine.

What Disciplinary Action Can Look Like

After a complaint is investigated, possible outcomes include:

  • No action (if the complaint is not substantiated)
  • Warning or caution to the doctor
  • Conditions on practice, such as:
    • Working under supervision
    • Limiting the types of patients they can see
    • Requiring additional training or counseling
  • Fines or reprimands
  • Suspension or revocation of license in serious cases

All complaints are handled confidentially, and your identity is generally protected as much as possible during the process.

Special Considerations in Grand Rapids and Michigan

Because of Michigan’s climate and health trends, complaints may sometimes involve:

  • Delayed or inadequate care during winter when respiratory illnesses, flu, and COVID-19 are common
  • Management of chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and asthma, which are prevalent in West Michigan
  • Access issues for residents in surrounding rural areas who rely on Grand Rapids hospitals and clinics

Regardless of the issue, your right to respectful, competent care does not change.

Where to Get Help and Support

If you are distressed or feel unsafe because of a doctor’s behavior, you may need both medical and emotional support.

In Emergencies

  • Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or have been sexually or physically assaulted.

For Complaints About Doctors in Michigan

  • Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)
    – Health Professional Licensing & Complaints (online forms and guidance)

  • Michigan Board of Medicine
    – For concerns about physician conduct, competence, or boundaries

Local and National Support Services

While numbers change over time, you can look for:

  • Local sexual assault support centers in Grand Rapids and Kent County
  • National hotlines for:
    • Sexual assault and domestic violence support
    • Mental health and crisis counseling
    • Youth and men’s support lines

Many of these services are free, confidential, and available 24/7.

Key Takeaways for Patients in Grand Rapids, MI

  • You have a right to safe, respectful, and professional medical care.
  • If something feels wrong with your doctor’s behavior or care, trust your instincts.
  • Start by:
    • Talking with someone you trust
    • Raising the issue with your doctor or clinic
    • Asking for a written response
  • If the issue is serious or not resolved:
    • File a complaint with LARA and/or the Michigan Board of Medicine
    • Seek support from local Grand Rapids resources, including Kent County Health Department and community health organizations
  • All complaints are taken seriously, and there are systems in place in Michigan to protect patients and uphold high standards of medical practice.

By speaking up, you not only protect yourself, but you may also help protect other patients in Grand Rapids and across Michigan.