Never events are preventable adverse events which often trigger accreditation concerns and for which hospitals cannot be reimbursed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This study used nationwide hospital discharge data to identify never events and examined whether the weekend effect—more frequent adverse events outside of standard working hours compared to the usual work week—was present for never events. Researchers found a 2% higher incidence for weekend admissions compared to weekday admissions; after adjustment for patient and hospital factors, this difference was further magnified. This data adds to prior work on the weekend effect to demonstrate that current weekend hospital conditions are associated with higher risk of serious and preventable hospital-acquired conditions. A related editorial highlights the need for constant vigilance and a universal approach for preventing never events rather than a specific focus on weekend work.

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