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Patient Safety in Maine

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The state of Maine has taken steps to collect information on and improve patient safety in health care facilities.  The law requires health care facilities to report sentinel events that occur within the facilities.1  Sentinel events are defined by the law as events such as surgery on the wrong patient or wrong body part, hemolytic transfusion reaction involving the administration of blood or blood products having major blood group incompatibilities, suicide of a patient in a health care facility where the patient receives inpatient care, infant abduction or discharge to the wrong family, or rape of a patient.2  The facility is required to submit a written report within 45 days of the event, and must include a description of the event and any corrective action the facility has taken or planned.3

As part of its patient safety reporting requirements, Maine has a specific law requiring nursing facilities to report adverse events, which includes medication reactions or errors.4  Additionally, Maine requires that all malpractice claims filed against a provider be reported to the Board of Medicine, followed by a final disposition report on the claim.5

 

Footnotes

  • 1. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22 §8753; 10-144-114 ME. CODE R. §2
  • 2. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22 §8752; 10-144-114 ME. CODE R. §2
  • 3. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22 §8753; 10-144-114 ME. CODE R. §2
  • 4. 10-144-110 ME. CODE R. § 19.G
  • 5. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 24 §2602

 

Patient Safety in Maine

Subtopic Statute/Regulation Description
Patient Safety Definitions - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 8752 Maine defines a sentinel event as the following: An unanticipated patient death or transfer to another health care facility unrelated to the...
Facility Responsibilities - 10-144-114 Me. Code R. § 2 A “sentinel event” is defined as any of the following: an unanticipated death or major permanent loss of function that is determined to...
Incident and Accident Records - 10-144-110 Me. Code R. § 19.G A report must be made any time an event occurs that may result in the injury of a resident, staff or visitor.  This can include medication...
Mandatory reporting of sentinel events - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 8753 All health care facilities are required to notify the occurrence of a sentinel event to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division...
Report of disposition - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 24, § 2602 Maine requires that all malpractice claims filed against a provider be reported to the Board of Medicine.  In addition, a final disposition...
Click on the individual state law in the table above to see our summary of the individual law.


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by Dr. Radut.