How would you know if your complication (an adverse event) is reported? It's not a trick question -- I'd really like to hear what people have to say about this question. See the article below.
Even the definition of an adverse event is a bit tricky -- here's one from the internet:
"An injury caused by medical management–rather than by the underlying disease–which prolongs hospitalization, produces a disability at the time of discharge, or both Etiology Drug effects, wound infections, technical complications, negligence, diagnostic mishaps, therapeutic mishaps, and events occurring in the emergency room."
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Medical errors go unreported at hospitals
The State Column | Staff | Saturday, January 07, 2012
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported that about 86 percent of hospital medical errors are not reported into the databases of incident reporting system, a system designed to manage and improve the quality of care for patients. Shockingly, 62 percent of adverse and “temporary harm” events are not reported due to staff believing the event does not need to be reported and 25 percent of the medical errors not reported were medical errors that are commonly reported, however were not reported for that instance.
Unreported events included hospital-acquired infections, overused or wrong medications, severe bedsores, and excessive bleeding due to administration of anticoagulants, and in some cases, death. By reporting these events, the hospital administration would be able to identify problems and help improve the care of the patients.
Read more:
Medical errors go unreported at hospitals | The State Column