Patient harm events and associated cost outcomes reported to a patient safety organization.
Patients who experience patient safety events may suffer physical, emotional, psychological, and financial consequences. Using an electronic trigger tool, researchers in this study evaluated financial impacts among patients who experienced harm events versus similar patients who did not across 37 acute-care facilities in three states. Patients who experienced preventable harm had longer length of stay and higher costs compared to patients who did not experience harm despite similarities in demographics and comorbidities in the two patient groups.