The purpose of this chapter is to provide a safe environment for patients by requiring hospitals to: Identify adverse events; Encourage reporting of near-misses; Assess and prioritize near-misses and adverse events based on level of disability or potential disability to patients; Determine the appropriate hospital response based on level of disability or potential disability; Conduct a root cause analysis of: All level 1 events; All level 2 events; and If warranted, any near-miss or other adverse event; Conduct an appropriate investigation of adverse events and near-misses that do not require or warrant a root cause analysis; Provide a process by which the concerns of patients can be addressed; and Provide a process to notify a patient or, if appropriate, a patient's family, whenever an outcome of care differs significantly from an anticipated outcome.