From Harm to Healing: The State of Patient Safety in Oregon (Oregon Patient Safety Commission, September 2025)

Summary

In early 2025, the Oregon Patient Safety Commission partnered with a local research firm to conduct a statewide survey seeking to understand how medical harm affects Oregonians and in what ways the response they receive shapes their experience. The survey findings reinforce that medical harm is not uncommon in Oregon, and when harm does happen, Oregonians expect transparency.

Content

Key findings include:

• 30% of Oregonians have had experience with medical harm in the last 5 years; this includes direct experience of harm or harm experienced by someone close to them.
• Oregonians expect transparency about medical harm—more than 9 in 10 of those surveyed agreed that healthcare providers should be required to tell patients if a medical error is made during their care.
• Oregonians want to be informed right away about medical harm, and they want an apology for what happened; however, only 31% of Oregonians who experienced harm got this type of response from the healthcare provider or facility.
• The more serious the health consequences of the harm, the less likely Oregonians were to be informed or to get an apology.