Hospitals report only an estimated 14 percent of the patient harm events experienced by Medicare beneficiaries, according to an analysis by the Office of Inspector General.
As a condition of participation in the Medicare program, hospitals are required to develop and maintain a Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement program. Through this program, hospitals must record and analyze adverse events or medical errors and implement strategies to prevent such incidents from recurring. The OIG conducted its analysis based on a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries discharged in Oct. 2008.
In addition to a low capture rate of medical errors, the OIG analysis showed hospitals investigated adverse events considered most likely to lead to quality and safety improvements but made few policy or practice changes as a result of reported events.
Hospital administrators classified the non-reported events (86 percent) as either events that staff did not perceive as reportable (61 percent) or as events that staff commonly report but did not report in that particular case (25 percent).
The OIG has outlined a number of suggestions to improve hospital reporting of adverse events, including collaboration between AHRQ and CMS to create and promote a list of potentially reportable events for hospitals to use.
As a condition of participation in the Medicare program, hospitals are required to develop and maintain a Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement program. Through this program, hospitals must record and analyze adverse events or medical errors and implement strategies to prevent such incidents from recurring. The OIG conducted its analysis based on a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries discharged in Oct. 2008.
In addition to a low capture rate of medical errors, the OIG analysis showed hospitals investigated adverse events considered most likely to lead to quality and safety improvements but made few policy or practice changes as a result of reported events.
Hospital administrators classified the non-reported events (86 percent) as either events that staff did not perceive as reportable (61 percent) or as events that staff commonly report but did not report in that particular case (25 percent).
The OIG has outlined a number of suggestions to improve hospital reporting of adverse events, including collaboration between AHRQ and CMS to create and promote a list of potentially reportable events for hospitals to use.
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