In a recent editorial in theBMJ, Haskell comments a recent study by Duclos, which sets out to create an updated baseline for surgical adverse events in the US, broadly modelled on the original 1991 Harvard Medical Practice Study as later discussed in the 1999 US Institute of Medicine’s report “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System”.
Data for Duclos study was derived from the 2023 SafeCare study, which used a “trigger” methodology to analyze a random sample of electronic inpatient records from 11 hospitals in Massachusetts. Trained nurses reviewed all records and flagged admissions with possible adverse events, which were then adjudicated by physicians, who confirmed the occurrence and characteristics of the events. Adverse events were classified as major if they resulted in serious harm requiring substantial intervention or prolonged recovery, involved a life-threatening event, or led to a fatal outcome. Potentially preventable events included those definitively, probably, or possibly preventable.
The Duclos study suggests that adverse events were identified in more than one third of patients admitted to hospital for surgery, with nearly half of the events classified as major and most potentially preventable.
Editorial: Surgical adverse events in the US.
Study: Safety of inpatient care in surgical settings: cohort study.
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