The Minnesota Department of Health released its 15th annual adverse event report. The Star Tribune writes the state reported 384 errors in the 12-month period that ended Oct. 6 last year, including 17 severe medication errors and 33 incidents in which irreplaceable biological specimens from patients were lost. That was an increase from 342 errors reported in the prior year, but state health and hospital officials said it represents progress and a unique culture developed over 15 years of reporting in Minnesota in which errors are openly acknowledged as part of a learning process.
Minnesota Adverse Health Events Law, which was enacted in 2003 requires all hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to report 29 specific adverse health events to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and to conduct a root cause analysis to identify the root causes of the event. The Minnesota Department of Health produces an annual report on the number of incidents that occurred over the past year, trends in the causes for those events, and work being done to prevent them.
Read more:
- Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-hospitals-confront-medical-errors-neonatal-deaths/506527492/
- Minnesota Department of Health Adverse Event Reporting: https://www.health.state.mn.us/facilities/patientsafety/adverseevents/publications/