Injuries inside hospitals to healthcare workers and patients increased during the pandemic, according to a report from the Massachusetts Department of Health, which was presented at a May 17 Public Health Council meeting.
Not only did the report show an increase in these reportable events year-over-year, but for 2022 there was a significant increase in injuries or adverse outcomes related to patient surgeries. The report also shows a rise in patients harming themselves during their stay as well.
"Suicide and self-harm with serious injury are the most common [serious reportable event] in this category. Cutting or injury with an object and ingesting objects were the most common events, followed by medication overdose and hanging/strangulation/intentional hypoxia," the report reads. "Most of these events occurred in adults aged 26-65, but one-third were among adolescents aged 12-19."
These instances are severely impacting healthcare workers as well. Nearly 50 percent of assaults, violence and abuse in hospitals came from patients toward healthcare providers and staff, the report says.
Harmful events at hospitals have been on the rise nationwide. And while there is currently not a federal structure for reporting adverse events, Massachusetts is one of 27 other states to have adopted a framework for doing so, known as the Serious Reportable Events framework.
The state adopted the framework in 2008 and in 2009 the state's Department of Public Health prohibited healthcare facilities from charging patients for any services related to serious reportable events.
The department stated in the report it plans to work closely with facilities after a serious reportable event occurs to create and implement corrective measures. It noted that it will also continue efforts to promote best practices for reducing suicide and self-harm of patients within hospital settings, among other key actions to improve care quality.