Adverse Health Events Reporting
Minnesota hospitals are committed to doing all they can to prevent avoidable mistakes and improve patient care. Minnesota hospitals have championed an important improvement in how we track and report the most serious medical errors. Initiated by the Minnesota Hospital Association and the Minnesota Department of Health and created through state legislation in 2003, our system is the first in the nation to be built on the National Quality Forum's list of reportable adverse events (see below), including retained objects after surgery, serious medication errors, pressure ulcers and more.
Through hospital participation in the MHA Patient Safety Registry, hospitals report safety event and medical error information in order to share existing safeguards, identify common safety issues and facilitate new collaborative solutions among hospitals. Minnesota's approach goes beyond reporting; hospitals gain access to valuable information including benchmark reports and key learnings and action steps from peer hospitals.
The Minnesota Department of Health produces an annual report of adverse events in Minnesota hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and regional treatment centers.
Guidance for Adverse Health Care Event Reporting
The MHA Patient Safety Registry Advisory Council works with the Department of Health to address questions about definitions related to the adverse health event reporting law. Based on these discussions, MHA offers these recommendations and guidance for AHE reporting. The purpose of these recommendations is to create more accurate and consistent reporting across organizations.