Implementing a Good Catch program in an integrated health system

In 2004, the Canadian Adverse Events Study (Baker et al. 2004) determined the incidence rate of adverse events (AE) in Canada to be 7.5%. This translates to approximately 185,000 for the almost 2.5 million annual hospital admissions in Canada. The study noted "close to 70,000 of these AEs were potentially preventable". In March 2005, a "Good Catch" program was implemented in Edmonton's Capital Health Region, one of the largest integrated health regions in Canada, as part of the region's comprehensive system of reporting, analyzing and managing incidents, adverse events and near misses.