Comparing Patient-Reported Hospital Adverse Events with Medical Record Review: Do Patients Know Something That Hospitals Do Not?

Background: Hospitals routinely survey patients about the quality of care they receive, but little is known about whether patient interviews can detect adverse events that medical record reviews do not. Objective: To compare adverse events reported in postdischarge patient interviews with adverse events detected by medical record review. Design: Random sample survey. Setting: Massachusetts, 2003. Patients: Recently hospitalized adults....