We used methods similar to the Harvard Medical Practice Study to estimate the incidence and types of adverse events and negligent adverse events in Utah and Colorado in 1992. We selected a representative sample of hospitals from Utah and Colorado and then randomly sampled 15,000 nonpsychiatric 1992 discharges. Each record was screened by a trained nurse-reviewer for 1 of 18 criteria associated with adverse events. The measures were adverse events and negligent adverse events. The incidence and types of adverse events in Utah and Colorado in 1992 were similar to those in New York State in 1984.
Iatrogenic injury continues to be a significant public health problem.
Improving systems of surgical care and drug delivery could substantially reduce the burden of iatrogenic injury. Previous studies relating the incidence of negligent medical care to malpractice lawsuits in the United States may not be generalizable. We linked medical malpractice claims data from Utah and Colorado with clinical data from a review of 14,700 medical records. We then analyzed characteristics of claimants and nonclaimants using evidence from their medical records about whether they had experienced a negligent adverse event. The study measures were negligent adverse events and medical malpractice claims.