Symplur: Serious Clinical Incident

A serious clinical incident (SCI) is an adverse event in healthcare that leads to death, serious injury, or harm to a patient’s health. These incidents can occur in any setting where healthcare is provided, including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and in the community.

Examples of serious clinical incidents include:

Surgical errors: Mistakes made during surgery that result in harm or injury to the patient.

Medication errors: Mistakes made in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication that result in harm or injury to the patient.

Diagnostic errors: Errors in the diagnosis or interpretation of test results that result in harm or injury to the patient.

Clinical judgment errors: Decisions made by healthcare professionals that result in harm or injury to the patient.

Systems failures: Problems with the healthcare system or processes that result in harm or injury to the patient.

When a serious clinical incident occurs, it is important to conduct a thorough investigation to understand the root cause of the incident and identify steps that can be taken to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. This may include changes to policies, procedures, training, or technology, as well as improvements to the overall quality and safety of healthcare delivery.

Healthcare organizations also have a responsibility to report serious clinical incidents to regulatory bodies, and to provide support and information to patients and their families in the aftermath of an incident.

The goal of responding to serious clinical incidents is to ensure that patients receive safe, high-quality care, and to promote a culture of continuous improvement in healthcare.