Reporting Requirements

The following adverse events must be reported to the Illinois Department of Public Health within 30 days of discovery—pending full implementation of the Illinois Adverse Health Care Events Reporting Law of 2005.

Surgical or invasive procedure events, including:

  • Surgery performed on a wrong body part or site, or the wrong patient
  • Wrong surgical procedure performed on a patient
  • Unintended retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery or other procedure
  • Death during or immediately after surgery of a normal, healthy patient (ASA Class I)

Product or device events, including patient death or serious disability associated with:

  • Use of contaminated drugs and/or devices where the contamination is generally detectable
  • Use or function of a device in patient care in which the device is used or functions other than intended
  • Intravascular air embolism that occurs while being cared for in a healthcare setting, excluding deaths or serious injury associated with neurosurgical procedures known to present a high risk of intravascular air embolism

Patient protection events, including:

  • Discharge or release of a patient or resident of any age who lacks decisional capacity to anyone other than a guardian or other legally authorized person
  • Patient death or serious disability associated with the patient’s disappearance, excluding competent adults with decision-making capacity who leave against medical advice or voluntarily leave without being seen
  • Patient suicide, attempted suicide or self-harm that results in serious injury while being cared for in a healthcare setting

Care management events, including:

  • Patient death or serious disability associated with a medication error or unsafe administration of blood products test
  • Maternal death or serious disability associated with labor or delivery in a low -risk pregnancy while being cared for in a healthcare setting, including events that occur within 42 days post-delivery, but excluding deaths from pulmonary or amniotic fluid embolism, acute fatty liver of pregnancy, or cardiomyopathy
  • Death or serious injury or a neonate associated with labor or delivery in a low -risk pregnancy, including for the office-based surgery, birthing center or “home” setting, unplanned admission to an inpatient setting within 24 hours after delivery
  • Patient death or serious injury associated with a fall while being cared for in a healthcare setting
  • Any stage 3, stage 4 and unstageable pressure ulcers acquired after admission or presentation to a healthcare setting unless:
    • Stage 2 pressure ulcer recognized upon admission progresses to stage 3, or
    • A pressure ulcer develops in an area where deep tissue injury was documented upon admission or presentation
  • Artificial insemination with the wrong donor sperm or wrong egg
  • Patient death or serious injury resulting from the irretrievable loss of an irreplaceable biological specimen, including events in which specimens are misidentified or when another procedure cannot be done to produce a specimen
  • Patient death or serious injury resulting from failure to follow up or communicate laboratory, pathology or radiology test results

Environmental events, including:

  • Patient or staff member death or serious injury associated with:
    • An electric shock in the course of patient care in a healthcare facility, excluding events involving patients during planned treatments such as electric countershock or electric cardioversion
    • Burn incurred from any source in the course of patient care in a healthcare setting, or
    • Use of physical restraints or bedrails while being cared for in a healthcare setting
  • Any incident in which systems designated for oxygen or other gas to be delivered to a patient contain no gas, the wrong gas or is contaminated by toxic substances.

Radiologic events, including:

  • Death or serious injury of a patient or staff member associated with the introduction of a metallic object into the Magnetic Resonance Imaging area

Potential criminal events, including:

  • Care ordered or provided by someone impersonating a physician, nurse, pharmacist or other licensed healthcare provider
  • Abduction of any patient or resident
  • Sexual abuse or sexual assault of a patient or staff member within or on the grounds of a healthcare setting
  • Death or serious injury of a patient or staff member resulting from a physical assault within or on the grounds of a healthcare setting