Measuring Patient Harm in Canadian Hospitals

Table of Contents

• Table of contents 3
• Acknowledgements 4
• Clinical experts 5
• Pioneer organizations 6
• Herbert’s story 8
• Introduction 9
• Hospital harm: A broader look at patient safety 12
• Definition 12
• Source of data 15
• Hospital harm rates may never be zero 17
• Harmful events in Canadian hospitals 17
• Harm experienced in 1 of every 18 hospitalizations 17
• Harmful events occur across all types of care 19
• Patients experience different types of harm 20
• Some patients experience more than 1 harmful event in hospital 25
• Complex patients are at higher risk of harm 25
• 1 in 8 hospitalizations with a harmful event ends in death 28
• Reducing harmful events could free up resources for unmet needs 29
• What can be done to improve patient safety? 30
• Clinical evidence-informed practices for reducing harm: Working together for safer care 30
• Actions to reduce harmful events 31
• What organizations can do to improve safety 34
• Limitations 37
• Conclusions 38
• Appendix A: Assessing the quality of Hospital Harm data 40
• Appendix B: Text alternative for figures 42
• References 47