title: The association between patient-reported incidents in hospitals and estimated rates of patient harm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to test the association between the rates of patient-reported incidents and patient harm documented in the patient record.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a secondary analysis of two national hospital assessments conducted in 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital services in Norway.
  
  
  METHODS
  The patient survey was a standard national patient-experience survey conducted at the hospital level for all 63 hospitals in Norway. The medical record review was performed by 47 Global Trigger Tools (GTTs) in all 19 hospital trusts and 4 private hospitals. The two data sets were matched at the unit level, yielding comparable patient experiences and GTT data for 7 departments, 16 hospitals and 11 hospital trusts.
  
  
  METHODS
  No intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  The correlation at the unit level between the patient-reported incident in hospital instrument (PRIH-I) and estimated rates of patient harm from the GTT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PRIH-I index was significantly correlated with all patient-reported experience indicators at the individual level, with estimates for all patient harm events (Categories E-I) at the unit level (r = 0.62, P < 0.01), and with estimates of more serious harm events in Categories F-I (r = 0.42, P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patient-reported incidents in hospitals, as measured by the PRIH-I, are strongly correlated with patient harm rates based on the GTT. This indicates that patient-reported incidents are related to patient safety, but more research is needed to confirm the usefulness of patient reporting in the evaluation of patient safety.
authors.affiliation: Department for Quality and Patient Safety, Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, Boks 7004 St Olavs plass, 0130 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Oyvind
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bjertnaes
authors.affiliation: Akershus University Hospital (Health Services Research Unit), Sykehusveien 25, 1478 Lørenskog, Norway The Norwegian Directorate of Health (the Norwegian Patient Safety Programme), Universitetsgata 2, 0164 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Ellen Tveter
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Deilkås
authors.affiliation: Department for Quality and Patient Safety, Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, Boks 7004 St Olavs plass, 0130 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kjersti Eeg
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Skudal
authors.affiliation: Department for Quality and Patient Safety, Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, Boks 7004 St Olavs plass, 0130 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Hilde Hestad
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Iversen
authors.affiliation: Department for Quality and Patient Safety, Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, Boks 7004 St Olavs plass, 0130 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Anne Mette
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bjerkan
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008499:Medical Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009664:Norway; D064406:Patient Harm / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D061214:Patient Safety; D012308:Risk Management / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017751:Safety Management
keywords: GTT; hospital; patient experiences; patient safety; questionnaire