Serious Reportable Events
Through Massachusetts law (chapter 305 of the Acts of 2008, section 9) hospitals are required to report Serious Reportable Events (SREs) to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). The law also prohibits hospitals from charging for these events or seeking reimbursement for SRE-related services.
Through regulation, at 105 CMR 130.000, DPH has defined SREs to meet the National Quality Forum’s definitions of twenty-eight such events.
As stated in DPH’s Interim Report, Serious Reportable Events in Massachusetts Hospitals: January 1, 2008 – June 30, 2008: "The most meaningful results will come from what we learn about why events happen and how they can be prevented in the future. There is little question among the stakeholders that the imposition of consistently high levels of inquiry, accountability, and transparency will foster the system-wide patient safety improvements that need to take place."
In this spirit, the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety together with the Board of Registration in Medicine’s Patient Care Assessment Division and DPH’s Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality have collaborated to publish a summary of information and best practices on SREs. The first summary published focuses on Wrong-Site Surgery.
Documents
This information is provided by the Betsy Lehman for Patient Safety and Medical Error Reduction within the Department of Public Health.