What is an unintended patient injury that results in prolonged hospitalization called?

An unintended patient injury that results in prolonged hospitalization is referred to as an adverse event. This term encompasses any occurrence during patient care that results in harm to the patient, which was not the intended outcome of the treatment. An adverse event can arise from various issues, including complications of treatment, medication errors, or the progression of a patient’s condition that had not been anticipated.

In the context of healthcare, understanding adverse events is crucial for improving patient safety and quality of care. It highlights the importance of monitoring and reporting these incidents to prevent future occurrences. Addressing adverse events typically involves analyzing root causes and making system improvements to reduce the risk of similar incidents happening in the future.

While terms like medical error, near miss, and critical incident are related to patient safety, they don't specifically denote an incident that causes harm leading to longer hospital stays. A medical error is an action that may lead to an adverse event but does not always result in identifiable harm. A near miss refers to a situation where a potential error was avoided before it led to injury, and a critical incident often involves a serious event but may not always relate directly to an unintended patient injury or prolonged hospitalization.