The National Quality Forum is a non profit organization that aims to improve the quality of health care in the United States. To this end, they have compiled a list of SRE’s, or Serious Reportable Events, as a way to monitor, report, and correct patterns and instances of errors that are largely or universally preventable. To qualify for the list, an event must be adverse, clearly identifiable and measurable, unambiguous, and of concern to both the public and medical care professionals.
The complete list of Serious Reportable Events fall into seven categories.
Surgical Errors or Invasive Procedure Events
- Surgical or other invasive procedure preformed on the wrong site
- Surgical or other invasive procedure preformed on the wrong patient
- Incorrect surgical or other invasive procedure preformed
- Unintended retention of a foreign object in a patient
-Intraoperative or immediately postoperative death of a ASA Class 1 patient (normal healthy patient)
Products or Device Events
- Patient death or serious injury from the use of contaminated drug, devices, biologics provided by the healthcare setting
- Death or serious injury from the use or function of a device when the device is used for functions other than as intended
- Death or serious injury associated with intravascular air embolism that occurs while being cared for in a healthcare setting
Patient Protection Events
- Discharge or release of a patient ,who is unable to make decisions, to anyone other than an authorized person
- Patient death or serious injury associated with a patient disappearance
- Patient suicide, attempted suicide, or self harm that results in serious injury, while being cared for
Care Management Events
- Patient death or serious injury associated with a medication error, errors involving the wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong patient, ect.
-Patient death or serious injury from unsafe administration of blood products
- Maternal death or serious injury associated with labor or delivery during a low risk pregnancy
- Death or serious injury of a neonate associated with labor or delivery in a low risk pregnancy
- Patient death or serious injury resulting from a fall
- Any pressure ulcer acquired after admission to a healthcare setting
- Patient death or serious injury resulting from the irretrievable loss of an irreplaceable biological specimen
- Patient death or serious injury resulting from a failure to follow up or communicate laboratory, pathology, or radiology results
Environmental Events
- Patient or staff death or serious injury from an electric shock during patient care
- Any incident in which systems designated for oxygen or other gas contain no gas, the wrong gas, or are contaminated
- Patient or staff death or serious injury associated with a burn incurred during patient care
- Patient death or serious injury associated with the use of physical restraints or bedrails while being cared for
Radiologic Events
- Death or serious injury of staff or patient associated with the introduction of a metallic object into the MRI area
Potential Criminal Events
- Any instance of care ordered or provided by someone impersonating a physician, nurse, or other licensed healthcare provider
- Abduction of a patient of any age
- Sexual abuse on a patient or staff member within or on the grounds of a healthcare setting
- Death or serious injury of a patient or staff member resulting from a physical assault that occurs on the healthcare grounds
