Equity and patient safety: An analysis of hospital harm
Key links
Report: Improving patient safety and quality of care: Applying an equity lens to hospital harm
Data tables: Applying an Equity Lens to Patient Safety (XLSX) (To access all features of the data tables, open this file in the desktop version of Excel.)
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October 17, 2024 — All patients deserve safe and high-quality care. This analysis looks at whether some equity-deserving populations are more likely to experience a patient safety incident while in hospital. The new analysis is coupled with concrete strategies for improving patient safety and quality of care in hospitals.
Key findings
- A disproportionate burden of harm is faced by patients who are especially vulnerable to communication challenges. Effective communication in health care settings is a recognized patient safety best practice.
- Patients who do not speak English or French are 30% more likely to experience a harmful event during their hospital stay compared with patients who speak one of those languages.
- Patients with less than high school education are 20% more likely to experience harmful events in hospital compared with those who have high school education or more.
- The risk of experiencing hospital harm increases with age.
- The average cost of a hospitalization for a patient who had a harmful event during their stay was more than 4 times the cost of a hospital stay without harm ($42,558 versus $9,072).
- Hospitals and health systems can replicate these analyses and use this data to inform equity-oriented patient safety improvement plans.
Featured material
Improving patient safety and quality of care: Applying an equity lens to hospital harm
Applying an equity lens to patient safety helps to ensure that all patients, regardless of their age, sex or income, receive safe and high-quality care.
Applying an Equity Lens to Patient Safety — Data Tables
Access detailed national-level information on hospital harm by age, sex, neighbourhood income and geography, as well as methodology notes.
Download the data tables (XLSX) (To access all features of the data tables, open this file in the desktop version of Excel.)
Related resources
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Key links
Report: Improving patient safety and quality of care: Applying an equity lens to hospital harm
Data tables: Applying an Equity Lens to Patient Safety (XLSX) (To access all features of the data tables, open this file in the desktop version of Excel.)
Contact:
How to cite:
Canadian Institute for Health Information. Equity and patient safety: An analysis of hospital harm. Accessed October 21, 2024.
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