IHS Needs to Improve on Data Use Related to Adverse Effects Reporting

A government watchdog has stated that the Indian Health Service must enhance its patient safety oversight by assessing the data it gathers on incidents that have the potential to, or have already led to, harm, damage, or loss for patients, segregated by location.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted in a report that although IHS Safety Tracking and Response, a web-based system established in 2020, monitors trends in so-called “adverse events” at the regional and facility levels, these reports lack details regarding specific locations for IHS headquarters. This absence of location-focused data inhibits the headquarters from efficiently allocating attention and resources or sharing best practices, thus possibly leading to disparities in patient care based on location, as stated by the GAO.

The IHS recorded more than 27,000 adverse events over two years, according to the report. The IHS, which caters to the healthcare needs of about 2.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, classifies adverse events as instances such as giving wrong medication to a patient or a missed diagnosis.

The GAO suggested that the agency, at the very least, analyze and contrast adverse event data across its various geographic regions, and share best practices as per the detected trends when necessary. The Department of Health and Human Services, under which the IHS operates, concurred with these recommendations.

The agency observed “longstanding questions about patient care quality and safety at federally operated IHS facilities.” The watchdog said as an example that IHS-operated facilities were inconsistent in their reporting of adverse events in 2017.

The GAO stated that the investigation was carried out to evaluate the agency’s utilization of “information technology systems to manage patient care and monitor adverse events.” The GAO further added that these IT systems could be employed to oversee the quality of care provided to the populations served by IHS, which are disproportionately impacted by specific health conditions.

Along with approving the suggestions, HHS also declared that it would publish a quarterly report containing data from both the national and local levels that would be given to IHS leadership in order to address problems as they arise.