The National Quality Forum (NQF) is accepting public comments on the criteria used to determine a Serious Reportable Event (SRE), as well as candidate SREs based on the proposed draft 2024 SRE inclusion criteria. The updated criteria will serve as the basis for considering revisions to the SRE List which NQF will publish later this year. Please submit your comments on the draft 2024 SRE inclusion criteria and candidate SREs by July 7, 2024, at 6:00pm ET via this survey.
With funding from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, NQF is engaging experts to review and develop a unified, consensus-based, updated SRE List. This updated list will reflect the evolutions in health care delivery and foster alignment of disparate definitions and terminologies used when interpreting harm events and subsequent reporting adherence. Prior to convening experts, NQF is seeking the following: (1) public comment on the revised SRE inclusion criteria and applicable health care settings, and (2) candidate SREs based on the proposed draft 2024 SRE inclusion criteria.
1. As you comment on the draft 2024 SRE inclusion criteria and applicable health care settings, please also consider whether the criteria:
- Represent the current health care landscape, reflecting how and where care is delivered (i.e., across the continuum of care, from home- and community-based settings to acute and post-acute care);
- Adapt to changing health care practices (e.g., shift from inpatient care to outpatient, use of novel technology);
- Encompass the patient perspective (e.g., psychological harm); and
- Provide clear and concise criteria that build alignment and consistency in monitoring and reporting.
2. We ask you to submit candidate SREs that meet the updated inclusion criteria and which have a clear tie to an encounter with a health care delivery system. NQF will convene experts to review and discuss the candidate events and the 29 existing SREs for inclusion in the updated SRE List. Candidate events should be:
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Serious - defined as resulting in death or contributing to patient or health care worker harm that includes physical, emotional, or psychological harm(s) that require major intervention (e.g., surgery, higher level of care, or treatment post discharge), or impairs a patient’s ability to perform activities of daily living; and
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Largely preventable - defined as likely avoidable by any means currently available within the generally accepted standards of care and triggers further investigation into causative factors.
Comments can be submitted via this survey. Please refer to the SRE Inclusion Criteria and Applicable Health Care Settings Proposed Changes for further information about proposed updates, and the Serious Reportable Events In Healthcare – 2011 Update: A Consensus Report for information regarding the current SRE List.
Please contact the NQF Team at patientsafety@qualityforum.org if you have any questions.