News Summary

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reports that the rate of unintended harm in Canadian hospitals has remained stable at 6% for the fifth consecutive year. This equates to approximately 153,000 hospitalizations experiencing harm out of a total of 2.6 million. These harms are often preventable and include issues such as electrolyte imbalance, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia. Despite the stability in rates, there is a pressing need for system-wide efforts to enhance patient safety, as unintended harms significantly increase hospital stays and associated costs. The Hospital Harm Project, a collaboration between CIHI and Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC), aims to address these issues by linking harm measurement with improvement tools for hospital executives and clinicians. However, challenges such as under-reporting and lack of a national patient safety plan continue to hinder progress.