AHRQ Analysis Shows Progress in Reducing Patient Safety Events

A new analysis of hospitalized Medicare patients reveals a decline in adverse events since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 13-to-15 percent reduction in adverse events in 2022 compared to 2021.

The report, Adverse Events Among In-Hospital Medicare Patients in 2021 and 2022 (PDF, 2 MB), was led by AHRQ in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It is based on data from AHRQ’s Quality and Safety Review System (QSRS), a new one-of-a-kind national repository that includes data on 41 types of adverse events and creates a baseline to assess the national impact of ongoing patient safety improvement initiatives. Among report highlights: in 2022, 6.2 percent of Medicare patients experienced at least one adverse event per hospital stay, a reduction from 7.1 percent in 2021.

Select to access Adverse Events Among In-Hospital Medicare Patients in 2021 and 2022 (PDF, 2 MB).