Reporting Medical Errors made Mandatory in Nova Scotia

The government of Nova Scotia is taking a positive step towards transparency and improving patient safety by making it mandatory for health authorities to report medical errors. Starting Dec. 22, the province’s health authorities will have to report medical mistakes to the Department of Health and Wellness within 12 hours.

Patient safety is a serious concern across Canada. Some say medical errors are the third leading cause of death in Canada. Yet, most provinces and territories lack a uniform system for tracking and reporting “adverse events”. With systems focused on transparency, knowledge sharing, and learning from mistakes, health authorities across the nation can improve patient safety and reduce preventable errors.

To learn more about the initiative by the Province of Nova Scotia, click here.

To learn more about the issue, please click here.