Section 508 Mode Toggle Skip to main content
Support Contact Us Sign In

Common Formats for Event Reporting - Hospital Version 2.0

Common Formats for Event Reporting - Hospital Version 2.0 (CFER-H V2.0) constitutes a major release of the AHRQ Common Formats and reflects these key changes:

  • Data elements are designated as either 'core' or 'supplemental' for reporting purposes;
  • Event descriptions for each module are condensed;
  • Module-specific paper forms are eliminated.

Core and supplemental data elements designate two types of data sets. All data elements contained in the core data sets are required for event reporting at the local level by providers to PSOs and the PSOPPC for national aggregation and analysis. Those data elements contained in the supplemental data sets may be collected at the local level for additional analysis, and may be reported to PSOs, but will not be accepted by the PSOPPC for national aggregation and analysis at this time.

Specific changes in CFER-H V2.0 compared with Common Formats for Event Reporting - Hospital Version 1.2 (CFER-H V1.2) are:

  1. To reduce reporting burden, CFER-H V2.0 event descriptions are condensed resulting in fewer data elements than CFER-H V1.2;
  2. In CFER-H V2.0, the Healthcare Event Reporting Form (HERF), Patient Information Form (PIF), and Summary of Initial Report (SIR) are consolidated into one module, called the Generic module;
  3. The separate Healthcare-associated Infection (HAI) module has been retired with CFER-H V2.0, but occurrences of HAIs are still reported using the Generic module instead of a separate HAI-specific module;
  4. The Surgery or Anesthesia module is split into two separate modules with separate event descriptions and flow charts;
  5. Health Information Technology (HIT) is removed from the Device or Medical/Surgical Supply module, and is treated as a Contributing Factor in the Generic module;
  6. Paper forms were eliminated to encourage the electronic reporting of patient safety concerns based on data element information found in the Data Dictionary, Resources Workbook, and Flow Charts.

Common Formats for Event Reporting - Hospital Version 2.0a (CFER-H V2.0a) was a minor technical update which:

  1. Provided reporting options required by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);
  2. Reinstated pertinent reporting information;
  3. Expanded or modified the Data Dictionary "Guide for Use" language to clarify information intended for reporting.

See the Technical Release Notes below for a complete review of changes.

Technical Release Notes

The Technical Release Notes contain descriptions of changes that were made to the CFER-H V2.0. Changes include specificity on questions, answers, definitions, and summarizes changes to the Implementation Guide, Resources Workbook, and Flow Charts. The Data Element Conversion Mapping Guide for CFER-H V2.0 can be used to filter and view specific changes to Data Elements and to Answers from Common Formats for Event Reporting - Hospital Version 1.1 (CFER-H V1.1) or from CFER-H V1.2.

PDF document icon   CFER-H_V2.0a_Technical_Release_Notes  Posted on: 04/20/2020,  344 KB

excel document icon   CFER-H_V2.0a_Data_Element_Conversion_Mapping_Guide  Posted on: 03/22/2022,  196 KB

Supporting Documents

A users' guide and event descriptions for the Generic and event-specific categories are available for this version of Common Formats.

Technical Specifications

The technical specifications include the Implementation Guide, Resources Workbook, Data Dictionary, Data Submission Error Messages, Flow Charts, and CDA XML Samples that provide direction on how to implement and submit CFER-H V2.0 data.

Supplemental Information

Back to Top

Back To Top