On July 19, 2016, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a report, Adverse Events in Rehabilitation Hospitals: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries, part of a series on adverse events in health care settings or harm resulting from medical care. This report cites that incidence of these events in rehabilitation hospitals is similar to that of acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities that has been reported in previous OIG findings. The findings from this report resulted from the review of a national sample of medical records from 417 Medicare beneficiaries discharged from rehab hospitals in March 2012.

The OIG recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) raise awareness of patient safety issues in rehabilitation hospitals and other health care settings. CMS and AHRQ concurred with the OIG recommendations.