Medical errors and adverse events in israel during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The pandemic has suddenly challenged many healthcare systems. These systems needed more time to adapt and adjust their patient safety, risk management, and quality improvement programs to the new situation. This study aimed to characterize the pandemic's impact on reporting medical adverse events compared to periods before the pandemic outbreak in Israel. This retrospective cohort study is based on an adverse event reporting database reported to the Israeli Ministry of Health. We analyzed the number and type of adverse events reported to the Ministry of Health in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic (pre-pandemic period 2018–2019) in comparison to the same type of events reported during the pandemic (pandemic period 2020–2021). We found significant differences in reporting of adverse medical events compared to the pre-pandemic period. The following types of events were reported significantly more: medical and surgical procedures, unexpected deaths in general hospitals, complications or deaths of the mother in-hospital and home birth, more severe complications, and stillbirth of born children, and higher escape rate from psychiatric hospitals. A significant decrease was observed in errors in the operation process and device malfunctions. The overall rate of reporting adverse events was higher during the pandemic than pre-pandemic. Reporting of specific types of adverse events increased compared to the pre-pandemic period, though some were reported less. It may be beneficial to try to understand what specific variables played a significant role in affecting those changes. This understanding may help the healthcare system prepare to cope better with future medical crises.