Following a procedure, a patient is returned to the operating room for removal of a...

Claims data is often the most reliable source to detect adverse events like retained surgical items, especially if incident reports are missing due to underreporting. Claims submitted for reimbursement contain diagnostic and procedure codes that flag such events (The Joint Commission, Sentinel Event Reporting, 2024; AHRQ, Patient Safety Indicators, 2023).

Patient complaints and surgeon disclosure may occur but are less consistent.

Peer review relies on voluntary disclosure and may not capture all events.