What is defined as any unintended patient injury or harm that results in prolonged hospitalization?

An adverse event is defined as any unintended patient injury or harm that results in prolonged hospitalization. This concept emphasizes the importance of acknowledging incidents that cause actual harm to patients, which can lead to increased healthcare costs, additional treatments, or prolonged recovery times.

Understanding adverse events is crucial in healthcare settings, as they highlight areas for improvement in patient safety and care quality. They differ from other concepts such as medical errors, which refer specifically to mistakes made in the course of providing care but do not always result in harm, or near misses, which are situations where an error could have caused harm but did not due to timely intervention.

In essence, recognizing an adverse event is a vital part of quality improvement efforts in healthcare, as it drives initiatives aimed at preventing future occurrences and enhancing overall patient safety.