By law, all health care facilities must report the following incidents to us within one business day. There are exceptions for Nursing Facilities (24-hour reporting with certain events):
- Unexplained deaths.
- Brain injuries.
- Spinal cord injuries.
- Life-threatening complications of anesthesia.
- Life-threatening transfusion errors/reactions.
- Severe burns.
- Missing persons.
- Physical abuse.
- Verbal abuse.
- Sexual abuse.
- Neglect.
- Misappropriation of property.
- Diverted drugs.
- Malfunction/misuse of equipment.
What we do when a facility submits a report
- Investigate the occurrence and determine if the facility took appropriate action.
- Write a summary of the occurrence, not including names of the people involved, for public viewing.
- Cite a deficiency if state or federal regulations were violated.
Other ways we use reports
- Review before conducting annual surveys (inspections) of facilities.
- Review before reissuing a facility's license.
- Possibly review as part of a complaint investigation.
Considering occurrence reports when comparing facilities
- Facilities with a higher number of reported occurrences may be doing a better job of reporting.
- Also consider a facility's:
- Occurrence history
- Responses to certain types of events.
- Size.
- Complexity of health care needs of its patients.