Never Events

“Never events” are medical errors that the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation says should never happen. They include operating on or removing the wrong limb (reported 116 times in 2008) and inadvertently leaving foreign objects in the patient’s body (reported 71 times in 2008).

“Never events” are a good marker for the quality of care being delivered by a hospital or physician and should be widely publicized for the protection of the public.