New safety study quantifies medical errors in Canadian hospitals

The first national study in Canada of the safety of hospital patients estimates that one in 13 people (7.5%) hospitalised have experienced an adverse event as a result of their care.

Researchers from seven Canadian universities analysed data on adverse events from 3745 adult patients' charts, randomly selected from 20 acute care hospitals in five provinces (CMAJ 2004;170:1678-86). They described an adverse event as “an unintended injury or complication resulting in death, disability or prolonged hospital stay caused by health care management rather than the patient's underlying condition.”

Of the 255 adverse …