In 2005, former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed an executive order mandating public reporting of medical errors. His goal was to help consumers better understand the quality of care at the health care providers they choose and what questions to ask before treatment.
Learn more about Indiana’s Medical Error Reporting program »
View the 
2013 Medical Error Report and IHA's response.
Types of Reportable Adverse Events
Today, Indiana hospitals are required to report on the National Quality Forum’s consensus list of 28 serious adverse events.
Surgical Events
- Surgery performed on a wrong body part
- Surgery performed on the wrong patient
- The wrong surgical procedure performed on a patient
- Foreign objects left in a patient after surgery or other invasive procedure
- Death during or immediately after surgery of a normal, healthy patient (ASA Class I)
Product or Device Events
These include patient death or serious disability associated with:
- The use of contaminated drugs, devices or biologics provided by the facility
- The use or function of a device in patient care in which the device is used or functions other than as intended
- An intravascular air embolism that occurs while being cared for in a facility
Patient Protection Events
- An infant discharged to the wrong person
- Patient death or serious disability associated with patient elopement (i.e. disappearance)
- Patient suicide or attempted suicide resulting in serious disability while being cared for in a health care facility
Care Management Events
These include patient death or serious disability:
- Associated with a medication error
- Associated with a hemolytic reaction due to incompatible blood or blood products
- Associated with hypoglycemia, the onset of which occurs in the facility
- Associated with hyperbilirubinemia in newborn infants
As well as the following:
- Due to joint movement therapy
- Maternal death or serious disability associated with labor or delivery in a low-risk pregnancy while being cared for in the hospital
- Stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers acquired after admission to a facility
- Artificial insemination with the wrong donor sperm or wrong egg
Environmental Events
These include patient death or serious disability associated with:
- An electric shock while being cared for in a facility
- A burn incurred while being cared for in a facility
- The use of restraints or bedrails while being cared for in a facility
- A fall while being cared for in a facility
Any incident in which a line designated for oxygen or other gas to be delivered to a patient contains the wrong gas or is contaminated by toxic substances
Criminal Events
These include any instance of care ordered by or provided by someone impersonating a physician, nurse, pharmacist or other licensed health care professional, including:
- Abduction of a patient of any age
- Sexual assault on a patient within or on the grounds of a facility
- Death or significant injury of a patient or staff member resulting from a physical assault that occurs within or on the grounds of a facility
When to Report
Once a hospital’s quality assessment and improvement program determines a serious adverse event has taken place, it must be reported to the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) within 15 days. The data elements being reported are name of the hospital, type of event and quarter of the year in which it occurred. These data are filed electronically with the ISDH. Data is made publically available annually.
Adverse Events vs. Errors
Most of the 28 reportable events are preventable medical errors that result in death, serious disability or significant injury. Others events, such as abduction or sexual assault, simply shouldn't happen, regardless of whether they result in death or serious disability.
Indiana implemented the medical error reporting system to reduce the frequency of medical errors, reveal the causes of medical errors and empower health care professionals to prevent errors before patients are harmed. Learn more about Indiana’s Medical Error Reporting program »
