From Harm to Healing:
The State of Patient Safety in Oregon
Medical harm happens far too often across the US healthcare system.
And when it does, how providers and healthcare facilities respond is crucial. At the Oregon Patient Safety Commission (OPSC), we wanted to better understand how medical harm affects Oregonians and in what ways the response they receive shapes their experience.
In early 2025, we partnered with a local research firm to conduct a survey to learn more. The survey findings reinforce that medical harm is not uncommon in Oregon; and when it does happen, Oregonians expect transparency. Most importantly, the survey shows that our healthcare system has work to do to better meet this expectation.
What we learned: Patients experience medical harm far too often.
30% of Oregonians have experienced medical harm in the last five years, either directly or in the medical care of someone close to them.
52% of medical harm in Oregon occurred in a hospital setting, and 48% occurred in a non-hospital setting.
What we learned: Patients expect transparency about their medical care—both when it goes well, and when it doesn’t.
93% of Oregonians believe healthcare providers should be required to tell their patients if a medical error is made during their care.
A top priority for 51% of Oregonians who had experienced medical harm was for the provider or facility to talk openly and honestly about the error.
What we learned: Patients who are informed about medical harm and given an apology are more satisfied with the response.
31% of those who experienced harm received a response that included both being informed about the error and an apology. 41% received neither.
69% of those who were informed of the error and given an apology were satisfied by the provider or facility's response.
79% of Oregonians said they rate the overall quality of healthcare in their community as good.
Only 16% of those who were both informed about an error and given an apology prioritized compensation. 30% prioritized compensation if they received neither element.
53% of those who experienced less serious harm events were given an apology. Only 27% of those who experienced more serious harm received an apology.
What we learned: Progress has been made in understanding how to effectively respond to medical harm; while there is more work ahead, Oregon has tools to help.
Oregon Patient Safety Commission programs can help strengthen how Oregon’s healthcare system responds to and learns from medical harm.
Oregon can leverage our programs—Early Discussion and Resolution (EDR) and the Patient Safety Reporting Program (PSRP)—to support shared learning to collectively improve our response to medical harm events for Oregonians:
PSRP collects and analyzes information that healthcare facilities share about patient harm events. We then share the lessons learned to support facilities in improving care and preventing future harm.
EDR helps connect patients who experience harm with their healthcare provider so they can speak candidly about what occurred, work toward reconciliation, and contribute to safeguarding others from similar harm.