“You cannot improve what you don’t measure,” could be an overarching theme to this voluntary and broad retrospective study. The study revealed roughly four patient safety events for every 1,000 visits during two years. While most reported incidents were harmless, the small number that caused major harm or death were often tied to anesthesia and sedation errors.
Source: AVMA News, June 24, 2025. Link. Falls, escapes, and other lapses in basic patient handling accounted for one-third of all veterinary PSEs followed by medication errors (26 percent), and anesthetic mishaps (11 percent).
Mistakes, though rare, are more likely to involve cats and anesthesia.”
Image: Link.