Do medical inpatients who report poor service quality experience more adverse events and medical errors?
OBJECTIVE
Service quality deficiencies are common in health care. However, little is known about the relationship between service quality and the occurrence of adverse events and medical errors. We hypothesized that patients who reported poor service quality were at increased risk of experiencing adverse events and medical errors.


METHODS
Patients were interviewed during and after their admissions regarding problems experienced during the hospitalizations. We used this information to identify service quality deficiencies. We then performed a blinded, retrospective chart review to independently identify adverse events and errors. We used multivariable methods to analyze whether patients who reported service quality deficiencies (obtained by patient report) experienced any adverse event, close call, or low risk error (ascertained by chart review).


RESULTS
The 228 participants (mean age 63 years, 37% male) reported 183 service quality deficiencies. Of the 52 incidents identified on chart review, patients experienced 34 adverse events, 11 close calls, and 7 low risk errors. The presence of any service quality deficiency more than doubled the odds of any adverse event, close call, or low risk error (adjusted odds ratio = 2.5; 95% confidence interval = 1.2-5.4). Service quality deficiencies involving poor coordination of care (adjusted odds ratio = 4.4; 95% confidence interval = 1.4-14.0) were associated with the occurrence of adverse events and medical errors.


CONCLUSIONS
Patient-reported service quality deficiencies were associated with adverse events and medical errors. Patients who report service quality incidents may help to identify patient safety hazards.
Taylor
Benjamin B
BB
Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Marcantonio
Edward R
ER
Pagovich
Odelya
O
Carbo
Alexander
A
Bergmann
Margaret
M
Davis
Roger B
RB
Bates
David W
DW
Phillips
Russell S
RS
Weingart
Saul N
SN
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012306:Risk; D014342:Truth Disclosure