Longitudinal rates of hospital adverse events that contributed to death in Norway and Sweden from 2013 to 2018 (June 2021)

Summary

In this study, published in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, the authors explore and compare types and longitudinal trends of hospital adverse events in Norway and Sweden in the years 2013-2018 with special reference to the adverse events that contributed to death.

They found that 13.2% of hospital admissions in Norway and 13.1% in Sweden were associated with an adverse event, with 0.23% of admissions in Norway and 0.26% in Sweden associated with an adverse event that contributed to death. In addition to the similar rates in adverse events between the two countries, the authors also found that there was no significant change in the level adverse events or fatal adverse events in either country over the six-year time period.