Abstract
Background and purpose — Hip arthroplasty is one of the most performed surgeries in Sweden, and the rate of adverse events (AEs) is fairly high. All patients in publicly financed healthcare in Sweden are insured by the Mutual Insurance Company of Swedish County Councils (Löf). We assessed the proportion of patients that sustained a major preventable AE and filed an AE claim to Löf.Patients and methods — We performed retrospective record review using the Global Trigger Tool to identify AEs in a Swedish multi-center cohort consisting of 1,998 patients with a total or hemi hip arthroplasty. We compared the major preventable AEs with all patient-reported claims to Löf from the same cohort and calculated the proportion of filed claims.Results — We found 1,066 major preventable AEs in 744 patients. Löf received 62 claims for these AEs, resulting in a claim proportion of 8%. 58 of the 62 claims were accepted by Löf and received compensation. The claim proportion was 13% for the elective patients and 0.3% for the acute patients. The most common AE for filing a claim was periprosthetic joint infection; of the 150 infections found 37 were claimed.Interpretation — The proportion of filed claims for major preventable AEs is very low, even for obvious and serious AEs such as periprosthetic joint infection.
Highlights
We found 1,066 major preventable adverse events (AEs) in 744 patients
We found 1,066 major preventable AEs in 744 patients
Löf received 62 claims for these AEs, resulting in a claim proportion of 8%. 58 of the 62 claims were accepted by Löf and received compensation
Summary
We found 1,066 major preventable AEs in 744 patients. Löf received 62 claims for these AEs, resulting in a claim proportion of 8%. 58 of the 62 claims were accepted by Löf and received compensation. Löf received 62 claims for these AEs, resulting in a claim proportion of 8%. Interpretation — The proportion of filed claims for major preventable AEs is very low, even for obvious and serious AEs such as periprosthetic joint infection. The Swedish Patient Injury Act states that all healthcare providers are obliged to have insurance covering AEs (Swedish Parliament 2010). Providers are obliged to urgently inform patients who sustain an AE about their right to claim compensation (Swedish Parliament 2010). The claim is assessed by experts at Löf and if the insurance terms are fulfilled, the patient will receive compensation. It is a non-fault insurance system, and there is no legal consequence for either the individual caregiver, or the healthcare provider
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